Journey to Neotopia
by dlfusion
Summary: Neotopia is a land of legends, a place outside of time and space where one instance of a legend gathers. They come in all shape and sizes. They can range from people, aliens, fictional characters, to inanimate objects. Ruby and Shikamaru are escaping Neotopia due to the rebels, but they intend to come back eventually. For now, they suppose jumping from universe to universe is ok.
1. Chapter 1: Departure

_This is a work of fiction using known works as a base for me to build off of. There will be characters from works that you will recognize, but please be aware they may be OOC (out of character) due to a history I intend to impose on the characters._ _This means their thought process and actions might not match up to what you expect. After all, this will ultimately be my interpretation of what **I** think they would do in **my** story._ _If anyone of you finds my work offensive or inadequate, I apologize for I probably won't care. That being said, feel free to correct grammar mistakes that slips past me, provide constructive criticism, and above all else, enjoy reading._

 **Chapter 1: Departure**

With steady breathing, the two sprinted through the forest in silence lest they give away their position to their pursuers. Alas, their efforts were deemed useless as the sound of more footsteps joined their own in the darkness. She rose a delicate eyebrow to her companion to ask about their next course of action. A tilt of his head confirmed her thoughts as she proceeded with Plan B.

Her body seemingly disappeared as she sped forward, her unique ability leaving only rose petals in her wake. It would certainly leave a trail, but that hardly mattered since her companion had slowed down to deal with their enemies. She knew he was capable but prayed that he dealt with them quickly as she secured their escape route.

A few minutes passed before she finally arrived at the objective. A wooden gate stood alone, tall as a building, connected to nothing but a control panel installed on a podium next to it. A frown settled on her face as she skidded to a stop. The Gaia Gate was one of the few gates that led to the other dimensions, and it was the only one that was located so far from the capital. The reason they wanted to use it was because the other gates were being guarded by the rebels. This one wasn't **supposed** to be guarded.

"Hehehe. Well, if it isn't the Crimson Harvest. You know, when I was told to prevent stragglers, I didn't expect to catch a big shot like you. It must be my lucky day."

The large, rugged man slowly stepped forward. He was huge, towering over her easily. Eight feet if she approximated correctly. She wasn't short by any means. Ever since she was reborn in Neotopia, she took the form of when she was in her prime, but her height was still average among legends. Many of the people here were gigantic. Besides, she once decapitated a crow the size of a skyscraper when she was 14, so she wasn't nervous in the slightest about a man who wanted to posture. In fact, she was kind of insulted at how relaxed he seemed despite his words. Although, she supposed he should be given some credit. He hasn't relaxed the muscles in his shoulders after all. The woman's eyes wandered over his body as she silently took note of any distinguishable features to help identify the foe in front of her.

He wore a black tank top, black pants, and combat boots to match. Her sensors indicated he had no weapons other than his fists, but it was the mask and tubes that gave him away. The black mask covered his entire head and left no openings for the mouth. The area where his face should've been was white while the place where a human's eyes was supposed to be was red. On his left hand was some sort of device that contained a doping liquid. The tube from the device connected to the back of his head. Bane, from the DC universe, was a B-class threat. Not a small fry, but enough to stall for backup.

"What the matter sweet thing? Gonna cry for help?" taunted one Bane's henchman.

Unlike Bane, she did not recognize them from the legends she knew that were registered in the system. Their bodies held the familiar presence of Neotopia though, so they couldn't have transmigrated.

 _Must have reincarnated at most 2 weeks ago_ , she concluded. _I do hope my tendency of not checking current events doesn't come back to bite me._

The image of a certain white-haired heiress popped into her mind, admonishing her for being lazy and too reclusive.

It also explained the arrogance and disregard they held for her. When you live in Neotopia, you learn not to underestimate anyone quickly.

"Stay on guard, pipsqueaks. She in the top 300. Anyone on the leaderboard are freaks of nature."

Bane certainly did after Jubei wiped the floor with him. You don't steal a cat's fish after all. Blake would never let her forget that.

A flick of her wrist pulled the hunk of metal stored on the holster on her back to the front. A twirl of the wrist and a pulse of aura later, it transformed into the familiar form of Crescent Rose in its scythe form. Since time was of the essence, there was no reason to waste words with the brats. The liquid stored in Bane's device was a foreign mixture that emanated magic and was definitely not the supposed venom from which his legend spoke of. She would clear the field of the grunts first, then deal with the doping brute later. In response, Bane activated the device, but it was too late. By the time the liquid would make it to his body, she would be finished with them. He should've started doping when he realized who she was. Another evidence of his leftover arrogance he failed to get rid of.

Her semblance was speed after all.

Rose petals scattered as her form blurred from moving too fast for the naked eye to see. Her aura and mana flowed into her scythe, strengthening the blade while increasing its reach respectively. A quick spin cleaved 5 people in half, their blood spraying into the air proving her true to her moniker. Of the remaining grunts, 3 stood in shock while two prepared to defend themselves. She commended the two in question. At least they were not foolish enough to believe they could retaliate. A fruitless endeavor, however.

More blood sprayed as the remaining grunts were cut by the invisible blades of wind she had casted simultaneously during her last attack. With her sensors confirming their deaths, she turned to the man that let his supposed comrades die without defending them.

The liquid had almost made it to his head. It was moving much faster than she anticipated. With a pull on the trigger, a sniper round shot out the head of Crescent Rose, propelling her even faster towards Bane. Her scythe arced above her head as she swung it down onto-

 **"Ruby, watch out!"**

With reflexes honed through her struggles, she faded into a stream of rose petals in order to narrowly dodge a counter sent by Bane. His reaction time was surprisingly on par with her own.

His fist powered through the petals, sending a gust of wind due to the force behind the attack. The petals flowed through the air with grace before her body becoming corporeal once more. A thin line of blood dripped down the side of her mouth. The woman rested a hand over her stomach where a bruise was no doubt forming.

 _"Penny, what happened?"_

The familiar voice of the A.I. resounded in her head.

 **"I believe we have been misled. He had already had a small dosage injected manually through a needle in his arm. The empty syringe located 24.7 meters to your left supports this hypothesis."**

A quick flicker of her eyes confirms her statement.

 _"I'm a bit more concerned about the fact he was able to hurt me while I was nothing more than a bunch of petals. I'm generally immune to magical and physical attacks."_

 **"I believe it must have something to do with that strange liquid itself. If the opportunity presents itself, please secure a sample Ruby."**

 _"Assuming we have such luxury."_

As it so happened, Bane had succeeded in doping. His body got even bigger than before and turned an unhealthy shade of purple. He took deep breaths, no doubt reveling in his newfound strength.

"Hahahaha. Yes, so much power. Amazing.."

 **"According to my sensors, his power is at least 2.13 times his normal state. Speed is 1.76 and flexibility has decreased by 8%. Calculating best course of action..."**

 _"In the meantime, let us start some mid-fight banter."_

"I'm surprised myself. You have acquired quite the impressive stock of steroids. Would you be so kind as to tell me where you got such a thing? I'm fairly certain I would know if that particular drug was on the market."

Bane let his arms drop down to his side as a smirk made itself visible despite his mask. He seemed even more arrogant than when the fight started.

"I'm sure you would want to know huh. Too bad little lady. Company secret."

 _"A unique drug crafted by the rebels huh. Given that only he had it out of everyone here, it must be in short supply. Although, it might not be so short if someone like Bane has it."_

"That's just too bad then."

"Indeed, with this you're definitely no match for-"

"I meant for you rebels," Ruby interrupted. "I was under the impression you people wanted to be a threat, not put out a grand show of mass suicide."

He noticeably was grinding his teeth, disliking the amusement she made apparent in her tone.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Your body can't handle the strain it's putting itself through. Sure, you're strong now, but the longer you stay in this state, the worse the aftereffects."

"Naturally, power comes with some sacrifice. A small price to pay for overwhelming strength."

A snort escaped her before she could stop it.

"Is that mask crippling you too or is that the effects already taking place. Get that cotton out of your ears and try to recall what I just said. You're going to **die** if you keep using it."

"And I think you're full of shit. Did you forget where we are? This is **NEOTOPIA** , land of immortal legends from all walks of life. No matter what happens to our bodies, it'll heal after a good night's sleep."

Ruby slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Holy Dust, you're a moron. That rule no longer applies to you, fool. You're a **rebel** of Neotopia. Your soul will no longer reincarnate here. As far as Neotopia is concerned, you will either no longer exist or be a cripple by the next sunrise."

His body grew still as the gravity of his situation sunk in. As he contemplated his blunder, Penny's voice relayed her conclusion.

 **"By my calculations, we have an 89% chance of winning if we stall long enough. Once the strain on his body becomes too much, it would be a simple matter to cut him down, retrieve a sample, and secure our escape route. With your speed, such a task would be the most effective."**

 _"Effective for the battle, maybe. However, he's not the only one we have to worry about. Don't forget his role was never to take us down, but to slow us enough for whoever they sent to deal with us. It would be more effective to catch him off guard after calming him down, or better yet, convert him."_

 **"Forgive my rudeness, Ruby. However, I do believe the chances of converting him to our side is too significantly low to be a favorable course of action."**

 _"You misunderstand, Penny. We don't need him to be on our side. We just need him to be neutral. Just watch."_

She gave her friend an imaginary pat on the shoulder in her mind as Bane woke up from his slump.

"Even if that's true," he began, "that would just mean I no longer have anything to lose."

"Oh, but you do. Tell me Bane, what do you think this is?"

Her two delicate fingers withdraw a single green bean from her dimensional inventory. To the naked eye, it might look no different from something you find on a plate of food, but anyone from Neotopia would know it as a...

"A senzu bean from the Dragonball universe! Where did you get that from?!" Bane yelled.

He could hardly be blamed for his shock. Senzu beans were a top-class healing item even across all the universes. Most senzu beans were monopolized by the Saiyans while the few that went on sale were sold for an obscene amount of money.

"Did you already forget who I am. I am Ruby Rose, the Crimson Harvest, huntress of Grimm, baker extraordinaire, leading figure of research for all things Magi-Tech weaponry. I am number 267 on most powerful legends leaderboards and number 15 on most influential. If you gave me enough time, I could design a weapon that would solve whatever monster issue you have. Whether they be Grimm, ghosts, fairies, demons, angels, Personas, etc. I am also the woman providing you with a way out. So, what will it be, Bane? Will you waste your life away attempting to chase me down as I literally dance around you until you collapse from your stupidity never to reincarnate as Bane ever again? Or will you accept this offer that very few will ever get to have in exchange for your neutrality."

He stood there silent for a moment before replying.

"Fine. You got yourself a deal."

He walked up to her and reached out for it, but she withdrew her hand. He immediately tensed his muscles.

"Ah-ah-ah. Not just yet. I also want that vial you got there full of your new steroids. And not anything you got in reserve. I specifically want the one you're using right now."

"Tch. Fine."

He turned off the device on his hand and pushed a button, detaching a vial of said purple liquid. Ruby gladly exchanged with a small smile on her lips. They were both aware of the senzu bean's value after all, and neither had the intention of going back on their word at this point. To do so would break a law of Neotopia, and this law applied regardless of being an accepted citizen of Neotopia. She placed the vial into her dimensional inventory, planning on dissecting it later with Penny.

"A pleasure doing business with you," she said as Bane quickly chewed and swallowed the bean. His body pulsated as the energy healed the damage done by the liquid.

"I suggest you and your buddy get out of here as soon as possible." he said, ignoring her pleasantry. "When I sent the message that someone arrived at the gate, they said they would send backup. Last time I checked, the guy they were going to send was the Reverse-Flash."

A frown marred her facial features. That wasn't good. In a speed vs speed match-up, she would no doubt lose to someone who can run faster than the speed of light.

"Wait a second, Eobard Thawne died already though. He shouldn't be able to come back, even with his ability to manipulate time. Neotopia's laws are absolute."

Bane shrugged uncaring.

"Don't know. Don't care. I did my part and didn't ask. The fact is I'm even telling you this is to ensure the fact you see me as a neutral than as an enemy. For now. How you deal with him is your problem. Now, I gotta make myself scarce before he shows up."

With that said, Bane began jogging into the forest, disappearing in the darkness. Ruby walked to the podium next to the Gaia Gate and began manipulating it.

 _"Penny."_

 **"I know, Ruby. If someone like the Reverse-Flash was sent after us he would have arrived long ago. However, my sensors indicate that there is nobody present other than you, our partner, and Bane. He left something out in his information, and it's highly suspicious."**

 _"He wouldn't dare do anything to risk getting hit by chaotic lightning. I'm certain the Reverse-Flash has been dead for a while now. The fact he is back means someone has worked out a solution around Neotopia's laws, but it must not be perfect. I can think a multitude of things. Perhaps when Eobard died, someone was ready to capture his dying soul and seal it somehow, therefore making it so he technically didn't leave Neotopia yet. Although without any evidence, we can't prove anything. Perhaps-SHIT!"_

 **"What is the matter** **Ruby?"**

 _"For some reason, the podium is damaged. It must have been when Bane threw that powerful counter. The shock wave must have damaged it."_

 **"But wouldn't that mean Bane would have been struck by lightning? You're not allowed to break the gates under any circumstances."**

Ruby sighed exasperatedly while running her hand through her hair and moving her bangs behind her ear.

 _"It's damaged, not broken. Damaged gates will simply regenerate and heal itself over time, but that would take too long. As it is now, I've already set the destination, but it can't open the portal. For the love of Dust, I should've cut his arm off before letting him eat a senzu bean!"_

Before she could come up with a solution, however, alarms began to go off in her head.

 **"Incoming, Ruby! Single presence rapidly approaching!"**

She turned just in time to see a yellow blur come to a stop in front of the clearing. His eyes scanned the field while his mouth moved. His voice gravelly as he questioned her.

"Strange. I count ten bodies. There should be eleven. What happened to Bane, woman?"

A wry smile appeared to mask the nervousness in her heart.

"Hmm. I don't know. He had quite the interesting ability. I found myself curious, so I just had to figured out what."

Not a lie, but not the truth either. She considered it compensation for the free information Bane gave her. What he did with that chance was up to him.

"In fact," she continued, "you seem to show some similar qualities now that I think about it."

Reverse-Flash stood there in front of her, alive despite what the database said. His skin from what she could tell was also purple. It also had noticeable lines and cracks along the skin, as if they were a bunch of paper stuck together. The damning detail that told the truth was the eye though. What was normally a white sclera in a human was black instead.

"Impure World Reincarnation Technique.." she said in disgust. It turned out her theory was correct after all, and the worst part was that the same factor that crippled Bane doesn't affect Reverse-Flash since he would just regenerate anew. Fantastic.

He scoffed in response.

"Don't compare me to that fool. You might hold yourself highly among the rabble but in front of me you are way out of your league, woman. Now, die."

Suddenly, he was in front of her face. A tilt of the body and a burst of rose petals later, she rolled on the ground before correcting her posture with Crescent Rose in her one hand.

 **"Ruby!"**

 _"Calm down, Penny. I turned into petals just in time. He got my left arm though and I don't think he'll give me the luxury to reform."_

Reverse-Flash zipped right back, but this time she was prepared. A pull of the trigger sent her clear out of the way and putting distance in between them. Her mind went into overdrive as the world slowed as her perception quickened.

 _"He's slower than I expected. Is it a side-effect of being alive when he should not?"_

 **"I believe so. The laws of Neotopia must be constantly at work trying to correct the anomaly. It must be the reason why he's nowhere near as fast as his prime. Whatever that drug is doing, it's the only thing keeping him in this world."**

 _"That makes my job easier, then. I'll use my eyes since my body can't keep up. However, I might lose a limb in the process."_

 **"Don't be so sure, Ruby. 26.5 meters, 24.3 degrees to the right."**

A familiar, pineapple-shaped head popped into view, his shadow rapidly approaching directly from Reverse-Flashes blind spot. Ruby schooled her expression to prevent anything from showing on her face lest she give anything away. Instead she called forth the familiar power residing in her body. Silver flames flickered into existence around her eyes. It was a power that purged evil, and Reverse-Flash, a dead man that was somehow alive in a zombie-like body, fit into that category just fine. Reverse-Flash pressed onward with an open palm intending to cut her head off, but froze when the shadow behind him connected.

"Shadow possession jutsu: Success."

A bright light manifested itself. Its warmth would envelop its allies in reassurance and its enemies in pain.

"Nooooooooo!"

His screams echoed into the night. As the light faded away, Ruby's vision revealed a frozen stone statue of Reverse-Flash forever sealed and never to be woken again. Immediately after gathering her bearings, she dashed away while reforming her previously destroyed arm. Not a moment later, a rainbow-colored lightning bolt came down from the heavens and struck the stone statue, obliterating it completely. Not even dust was left. She sighed in relief before taking out two senzu beans and throwing one to her partner. The man caught it with ease, and they promptly began eating to replenish lost stamina.

"Too close for comfort. Thanks, Shika."

He nodded in reply. He tilted his head towards the gate.

"Lets hurry up and get out of here before more come."

She sighed in frustration as the problem from earlier resurfaced.

"We **can't**. It's damaged. I put in the coordinates, but it won't open."

"It looks open to me."

She whipped her head so fast she was pretty sure something cracked, but she hardly cared at that point. There, before her, was a functioning dimensional gate with its swirling void. The only difference was that the gate itself was covered in some kind of purple mist, and the normally white center was now black.

"I didn't open that gate."

He blinked. "Are you saying someone is trying to open from the other side?"

She ran up to the podium with no sense of calm whatsoever. The pineapple head swiftly followed.

"Not intentionally it seems. Earlier when I was fighting, Bane accidentally cracked the podium. I was able to input the coordinates but was unable to open the gate. Whatever is happening on the other side, it's coincidentally triggering the gate on this side. This is a golden opportunity since nobody will be able to follow us once we go through it. When we do and the podium regenerates itself.."

"The coordinates we used will be lost." he finished. "Then let's go."

"Wait. Eat this." she tossed him a red bean.

"What's this?"

"Red senzu bean 2.3. Unlike the regular senzu bean that restores our body, this will take energy in our body and store it inside a core inside of us. I highly doubt the gate is stable, and unlike normal where we can cross through just fine, we might find that our bodies contradict the laws of the universe we're heading into. It might force our bodies to adapt to their laws. That could kill us. This senzu bean will allow us to form a safeguard that will act as a protector as well as automatically heal any injuries we get in the meantime."

"Amazing. How did you get this?" he turned the bean with his fingers to closer examine them. They look the exact same as regular senzu beans except red.

"Created them myself. Bulma helped too. How did you think I got so many senzu beans?" A smug look on her face.

He rolled his eyes but did not reply. Now was not the time. They could discuss it more later. There was no guarantee this gate stayed open any longer after all. After swallowing it, he stepped up to the gate while confirming one last time.

"You put the coordinates in correctly, right?"

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Yes, we're going to the "My Hero Academia" universe." a wry smile replaced it "Are you ready to be a hero, my lazy ninja?"

"Sigh..Always gotta have the last word."

"You know it!"


	2. Chapter 2: Angst, Villains and Heroes

**Chapter 2: Angst, Villains, and Heroes**

There are few things Shikamaru liked to do willingly. Ever since he was a child, he would always attempt to sleep in past noon, only to be woken up by his mother much earlier than that. Physical conditioning as a ninja has only further engraved the habit of waking up early every day, despite the fact he would feel lethargic every morning regardless. Back then he used to wonder what it would feel like to laze about in bed late into the afternoon. Apparently in most worlds, many civilian children have that luxury. Lucky bastards. Shogi was another hobby he found interesting. He was always a person who would rather use his mind than his body. It was a fact that was even reflected in how he fought. It was far too troublesome to waste more effort than necessary. To some people, that meant he was a genius. To his mother, he was just a heavier futon roll she needed to kick. She always used to say that the only way a woman would get married to him would be if she was willing to make the effort to come to him rather than the other way around. She was right for the most part. Temari did in fact move from the Hidden Sand Village all the way to the Hidden Leaf back in the Naruto universe.. What a strange way of referring to his home world. Even now, the term sounded strange on his tongue. It was one of the many things he had to get used to in Neotopia. No matter how normal things seemed, there was always a surprise in store.

Ruby Rose was one of those surprises. In a sense, she took his mother's phrase even more literally. He recalled that day quite clearly. It had been a normal day as any other in Neotopia. He had just woken up from a nap and was reading up on the rules of chess, a game quite similar to shogi and had caught his attention, when an explosion occurred next door to his apartment. Immediately afterwards, smoke filled his vision as a red blur burst through the wall in his dining room before creating a dent on the one on the opposite side, taking the table, the instruction manual, and his lunch with her.

She apologized, of course, while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. Apparently, she had been experimenting with Dust, a type of energy propellant in her home world, and Materia, from the Final Fantasy universe. His blank reaction told her just how smart he thought of her decision to try and combine the most volatile types of each material.

Instead of shrinking back however, the woman got up in his face and let him know just how unwilling she was to have him wound her pride. It wasn't too long after that incident, that he heard in passing how the Crimson Harvest had succeeded in creating one of the most powerful bombs since her success at fusing mana with aura. He learned that day that she was in fact a genius weaponsmith. Neotopia was a world filled with legends, so naturally, powerful monsters have to exist to balance it out. This lead to many individuals requesting for her services to adapt their gear to better fit their new environment.

This same woman sat outside their apartment complex humming a tune that very day. With a smug look on her face and her hands on her hips, she proudly rubbed in his face about her work of art before one-sidedly inviting herself into his apartment. They had become close friends ever since. They were partners, and he wouldn't deny that her company filled the loneliness that had taken place in his heart after realizing his now deceased family didn't come to Neotopia with him. He trusted her with his life, which is why he didn't find this situation humorous at all.

"Why am I suddenly 15 again?" he deadpanned.

The two of them were standing alone in a black void that connected Neotopia to their destination.

"Hehe..." she laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head the same way as the day he met her. Reverting to a 15-year old didn't rid her any habits, it seemed.

"Remember how I said the laws of the universe might try to correct us?"

He tilted his head.

"I also remember how you told me to eat a senzu bean to protect us from that. I swear if this is another one of your faulty experiments..."

She put up both hands in front of her.

"Well, I mean it did work. We're not in pain or anything, right? Penny is currently monitoring our bodies as we speak, so she'll let us know if something is wrong. This also will give me valuable data to perfect it, so it won't happen to the next time we jump dimensions. Besides, this is the first time I've crossed dimensions like this, so you can't fault me if it doesn't work perfectly."

A sigh escaped his lips. He supposes she was right. They weren't planning on using such unorthodox methods of travel. They were lucky she even had something like this in the first place. There was no need to get on her case about something out of her control.

"...even if making it strawberry flavor wasn't entirely necessary." she whispered to the side guiltily.

He could feel his eyebrow twitching. This troublesome woman...

"...When we arrive in Japan, you are forbidden from buying cookies for a month." he said with finality.

"WHAT?! No, please. Shika, you know I can't go that long without my fix. This is even more true since I'm back in my 15-year old body. I don't have the resistance for it. Have mercy on this poor soul."

She sunk into her knees and grabbed his flak jacket with both hands. Her silver eyes gleamed in the darkness as tears began comically forming while she did her infamous puppy dog eyes.

"I am being merciful. Or would you rather me ban you from strawberries for a week."

A gasp escaped her lips.

"You wouldn't dare."

She should know better than to tempt him when he was irritated. Retaliating was too exhausting, but if he didn't do at least this much, she would get carried away far too often, and that would be even more of a bother.

"Two months then."

She jumped off him, sitting down on the ground with her legs to the side like some damsel in distress. Her red and black combat skirt added further to the childish image. She laid her hand over her surprisingly ample chest.

"I don't even know you anymore."

He rolled his eyes. Saying anything else was a fruitless endeavor. At this point, she was just milking it for entertainment. He turned around and began walking again, knowing full well she would accept his terms. The sound of footsteps and low grumbling behind his back confirmed his guess.

As they continued onward in the void, Shikamaru began reflecting on what brought them here in the first place. Neotopia was the home to legends of all kinds. No matter their history, only one instance of each thing could exist inside Neotopia at any time. For example, in one dimension, Shikamaru grew old with his family and died as the Seventh Hokage's advisor. In another timeline, he might have died to an assassin before he even hit 20. However, only one of these two were allowed to exist in Neotopia. The only exceptions to this rule are the beings that are summoned by already chosen candidates. Familiars are one example. It was a rule that had to be followed or else there would be consequences.

That was the second known law of Neotopia. Anyone who tried to break the rules would be struck down by rainbow-colored lightning. Unlike the first, this law had no exceptions. Whether you were a ghost, god, or alien, it didn't matter. One strike was all it took to care you down, and it would leave nothing behind.

The third law was that it was forbidden to destroy the property of Neotopia. While it mainly pertained to the dimension gates, the cities and islands (as a whole) were included as well. On one hand, that meant you could blow up buildings like Ruby had. On the other, you weren't allowed to wipe out entire cities if you felt like it. Not that it was that easy a task. Everything in Neotopia was far tougher than anything else anyone had ever seen.

He recalled there was one viral video on the internet, where Naruto pranked one of the Saiyans by dyeing all his clothes and armor pink. In his fit of anger, the carrot headed Saiyan chased him into the forest and shot a purple laser with the intention of forcing Naruto to respawn. Except when the dust had settled, he did not see a barren wasteland, but a forest with most of its leaves scattered.

In a way, it made sense. Their society mixed together people who could destroy cities with a sneeze. This way, they didn't have to worry about waking up without clothes on because the primordial being of fire next-door had a hissy fit. That only made the fact Ruby had crashed into his dining room that fateful day even more impressive.

The last two laws pertained to the things you could do. The fourth stated that travel between dimensions must be done using the gates. This meant everything and everyone you wanted to bring with you had to be approved by Neotopia. For example, you could bring the soil you dug up to an alternate version of your home dimension, but you could never bring back anyone living from that same place that wasn't a recognized citizen.

The last said that citizens of Neotopia had the right to rebirth and "progress". The right to rebirth meant you could be reborn and would continue to do so every time you die unless you decided not to. In which case you forfeit your right as a citizen. However, the amount of time you would have to wait until you respawned varies. Your right belonged to you and you only, and it cannot be transferred. However, you only get one chance as a citizen. To lose your right meant all versions of yourself can no longer come back except as a summon.

The right of "progress" meant that your body, while having the qualities that made up who you were, is now capable of growing past the point of your prime. A paradox. You could now reach heights you could only dream of before. However, it was limited by the capabilities of your body, mind and time. It technically meant you could become the strongest in the multiverse. That was not the only thing progress guaranteed. One of the things that falls under its influence is that all deals must be upheld. A deal agreed by multiple parties generally means an improvement in circumstances, which means it would result in "progress". To go back on a deal meant impeding someone's progress and would guarantee a lightning bolt in no time at all.

The Golden Five, they called it. Laws everyone should know, especially since they were engraved on a monument in every city. It was much to take in at first for any newcomer, but it was relatively simple to follow. Neotopia granted a lot of freedom to its inhabitants that many appreciated. However, the last two laws were the cause of most of their headaches.

All legends could become part of Neotopia. This includes both the good and the bad. Currently, the method in which Neotopia chooses its legends was unknown, and the rebels were a group that wanted to change and altar the rules. Their reasons varied. Some wanted to give rights to people they knew and loved. Some wanted to free themselves from the restrictions imposed on them. Some just wanted to rule the world. Such a group of individuals was just asking for trouble. At least, common sense dictated that.

Alas, if it was one thing everyone learned, it was that common sense in Neotopia meant to not have common sense. None of the rebels' efforts bore fruit thus far, so recently they turned to the most tangible thing they knew existed, the dimension gates.

In reality, the two of them weren't really worried of the rebels being an actual threat. They just didn't like them attempting to control who did what in Neotopia. Neotopia was supposed to be a place of freedom and progress, yet the atmosphere as of late had turned restrictive and uncomfortable even for someone who leaves the house as little as Ruby. Thus, they made their way to the Gaia gate with the intention of taking a much-needed holiday. Shikamaru generally only visited his home world. Anything else he needed or wanted could be found somewhere in Neotopia, so he wasn't all too familiar with the other dimensions other than their descriptions in the system.

"Remind me again what time period we're going to?" he asked as he turned to his partner.

Her deceptively delicate-looking hand moved her red bangs behind her ear for the umpteenth time as she answered him. Her now much shorter hair rejected her efforts and fell back in front of her face, much to her deserved annoyance.

"Don't know... Don't give me that look, Shika. The gate didn't work like normal. Most likely, it'll be whatever time period that anomaly occurred in."

"Any ideas when that would be?"

She took her head lightly, having now given up on organizing her highlights.

"If I had to guess, a space or dimension-warping quirk interfered with the gate. But the number of humans in that world that fit those parameters across all time periods are far too numerous."

A brief sigh escaped her.

"When I spoke to Deku, he mentioned going to the time period around his prime was a good vacation period. It has lots of battles, and there is a long period of peace afterwards. That was our original destination, but now we could land anywhere from peacetime to the chaotic first-generation of quirks."

"I see... Quirks are like the equivalent of your world's semblances, right?"

"Yeah, they're almost the same, except semblances are unique abilities according to each soul, while quirks are abilities that can be inherited through each parent..."

She gave him a rueful smile. He recognized it as the one she always had when comparing herself to others.

"I'm actually quite envious of him. Although he might have struggled throughout his childhood as a quirk-less individual, his world is generally much more peaceful and full of hope. It is so similar yet different from mine. Although my people were diverse in power, humanity was forced back into living behind the walls by the forces of Grimm."

She turned away and stared at the empty space in front of her. Despite there being nothing but darkness around them, he could see clearly how she seemed to lose herself in her memories.

"No matter where we went, Salem's forces would find us. So many were her beasts that they would blot out the land and sky with their bodies. So large were her Nevermores that some were big enough to perch on our airships as if it was a branch. So powerful were her creations that our society began revolving around just four kingdoms. Four. Despite how large our planet was, humanity was pushed back to simply FOUR. KINGDOMS. By the time I was 16, four had become three. I never questioned it at the time, but it was truly fitting that we called the world Remnant instead of Earth."

His hand grasped her shoulder when she finally stopped to take a breath. His firm grip let her know he was here, ready and willing to be the shoulder she needed to lean on, just like she had been when he needed her. She gave him a gentle smile.

"Look at me, having an emotional breakdown already. This is why I hated being a teenager."

He gave her a wry grin.

"On that we can both agree on. I don't think I'm quite ready to deal with all that angst again."

She let out a cute snort through her nose.

"Please, you haven't seen angst till you meet Blake. During my time as a first year, she was a walking bundle of issues just waiting to be unraveled. Only to get bound up again if she was left alone like a pair of headphones."

"I'm pretty sure Sasuke would win in a contest of angst." he replied blandly.

"Touché."

She gently pats his hand with her own, letting him know she was okay. As he backed away, he noted the smell of strawberry shampoo also vanished. They drifted into a comfortable silence as a black circle with purple mist encompassing the edges came into view. It was quite weird that they could see it so clearly in the dark, but they both learned not to question such trivial things, only take note of them in case it made a difference later.

"I'll take point." Ruby offered. "The laws seem to have converted my semblance into a quirk. I no longer feel the connection within me. It feels more... instinctive. It's a strange feeling. Most likely because it's a physical trait now."

A logical proposal. With Ruby's speed and experience, she'll be able to respond quicker to any threats they face once they go through. Since the two of them had reverted to when they were 15, that meant their reserves and physical condition also reverted. The control they developed over their lives stayed with them, but all the new skills that wasn't normally possible in the Hero Academia universe would be sealed away from them. Another downside that arose since their bodies were affected by the universe's laws. Unfortunately, they wouldn't know which skills weren't possible until they arrive. Troublesome.

"Sorry."

And now he felt like a jerk.

"It's fine. I still can feel my chakra reserves but not my mana or aura. I could probably use the Shadow Possession Jutsu around 9 times."

Ruby formed a fist with her right hand and flexed. A shimmering of red aura flickered and then went away just as quick. They both frowned.

"I can't seem to project my aura. It can augment my body parts, but wide-area shields and attacks are out of my reach." She pulled out her scythe. "Crescent Rose isn't responding either." She tilted her head to the side. "I can still hear Penny, even though I know I never got her implanted in me when I was 15. She can still use her sensors, it seems."

"Will it be a problem?" he asked as he checked himself as well. It had been a long time since she had to manually switch between Crescent Rose's forms. A thorough once-over showed similar results for him. He couldn't convert elemental chakra, but he was perfectly capable of using his clan techniques.

"No, she was originally a mecha-shift weapon before I integrated magic into her. Manually switching should just mean I have to use a bit more wrist movements."

To prove her point, she demonstrated for him. The weapon became a blur of red metal as it shifted between dormant mode, sniper mode, and scythe mode. He pulled out a trench knife and held it in a familiar grip he practiced many times before. He nodded to her, indicating she could go through at any time. They prepared all they could, now they could only take the leap of faith. Ruby jumped into the portal, curling into a ball as she did so just in case they had to brace for landing. He then did the same. The world turned white before he found himself looking at concrete. A flip in the air later, he landed with his arms raised in front of him defensively. His eyes darted around him, taking note of everything around him even as the sound of murmuring voices entered his ears.

"What's going on?" a young girl's voice called out.

Black, skin-tight suit with puffy, pink guards on her legs and arms. Approximately 15 years old. Nervous and fearful.

"More villains?! Wait, they're kids like us!" a boy this time.

No shirt. Black baggy pants. Some sort of red shoulder guards. Skin looked rough, almost sharp. Quirk, most likely.

"Maybe," a much calmer boy added. Half his body was covered in ice. Ice quirk, perhaps. "But even children can be villains. Don't forget they came out of the portal."

More children were grouped around the three. None of them familiar except for one. Deku stood with them, but he wasn't the tall, confident man Shikamaru was familiar with. The Deku in front of them was about the same age as they currently were. His figure had muscles, yet failed to impose the same intimidating and reassuring image. They were in the transition stage between the Symbol of Peace and Villain Resurgence time period then. Near the students was a collapsed figure in what looked like a spacesuit. Only, the back of his suit was torn revealing lacerations along the back of the body inside. On the opposing side stood a figure clad in mist. The same mist that covered the Gaia gate and the portal they just took. The source of their anomaly then. They seemed to be located in some kind of large facility. He turned to his partner to see her forming hand signals.

 **"20 children. 2 teachers. Ally. Penny recognizes purple mist. Villain. Warp gate quirk. 24 villain visible. Unknown number hidden. Signal is jammed. 1 injured teacher. 1 fighting."**

"Well, that's a surprise." This time, the one who spoke was the purple mist. The villain, according to Ruby, has a gate quirk. Troublesome. A priority target then.

"When the gate I created never closed, I never would have imagined other people would come through it, much less children. Pray tell, who has graced us with their presence?"

Her message was rough. She was clearly still not proficient with the signals, so he kept the message simple.

 **"Together against purple mist. You run distraction. Then we split. I'll help the fighting teacher. You find the one jamming the signal. Regroup and protect children after."**

 **"Remember. No killing."**

She did not need to remind him. They were "heroes", after all.

"I see neither of you are of the talkative type. You're clearly different from the rest of the children. I'll need to-"

"We go by many names," Ruby interrupted. A purposeful move. He seemed like the type of person to pretend to be a gentleman before shredding his opponents to pieces. A break in his pace will throw him off. Shikamaru could do the same, but he didn't care enough to put the effort in. No, he would leave that job to Ruby.

"You can refer to me as the Crimson Harvest." she twirled the scythe that was as long as she was tall (currently) in one hand before slamming the blade into the ground. A classic display of power.

"He is the Shadow Leaf." A play on the phrase, the Shadow of the Hidden Leaf, which was his nickname in the bingo book.

"I see, and are you two going to interfere?" he asked.

"Hm... " Ruby twirled in place, disguising the act of preparing to remove the scythe from the ground while building momentum.

"Yes!"

She shot forward with scythe in hand. His shadow chased after her underneath the shadow of the rose petals left by her semblance. She swiped at the villain, almost as if she forgot her own words not a few seconds earlier. His worries were for nothing though. The mist-like body dispersed into more mist. His mind raced. If the mist functioned as the gate, then covering his body in the mist would make him intangible. However, if that was the case, then how did he ground himself? Part of his body maybe? Or an item of some sort? The mist dispersed slightly from her strike, revealing a collection of metal plates around where Shikamaru imagined his neck was. There it was. His shadow dashed forward, intending to stop his movements. However, the dispersed mist dashed in front of Shikamaru, intending to guard against whatever Shikamaru intended to do.

"Tsk." He couldn't possess his shadow if the mist warped his shadow elsewhere, and Ruby's eyes were out of the question. This was a bad matchup.

"I suppose the banter will have to end here."

With those words, he spread even more purple mist outwards. He wanted to surround them, it seemed. They both dashed backwards to escape the mist, only to find that he had opened a warp gate behind them at some point. More purple mist came through the said portal and started to envelop them. It was too late to dodge, so Shikamaru pumped chakra throughout his body to protect him from harm. A look around them revealed they were not the only targets. The rest of the purple mist had spread to the children.

"I'll scatter you across the facility to meet my comrades and your doom! **Begone!** "

His vision went black for a brief moment before once again filling with concrete. What was with today and falling face-first? He reached out and grabbed the nearby wall with a hand full of chakra. A moment later, he was kneeling on one leg sideways on the wall. He was in some kind of ruins. He almost thought he was far away from Ruby, but the familiar ceiling told him he was still in the same area. So, the quirk couldn't simply drop him thousands of feet underground. It most likely needed empty space to exist at the destination. He also couldn't transport across large distances, else he would simply drop him and all of the children thousands of feet in the air or far off in another city or in the middle of nowhere. However, is this because too many people would limit the distance? Or was there a limit to how often he could open a gate? Perhaps he's conserving energy for another fight? There was too little information to go off of, and Ruby wasn't here to fill him in on the details. The sounds of chuckling brought him back to reality.

"Just a wall-walking quirk? This will be a piece of cake."

"Hahaha. Scream loudly kid, I wanna see the despair on your face."

"Dude, that's sick. At least let me violate him first."

It was a strange feeling to be called a child by brats not even a tenth of his age. His horizontal figure made a long shadow to the ground, and the so-called villains approached unaware of the danger they were in. Not even Neotopia's newcomers were that foolish. No, maybe his thinking is biased. Neotopia was a land of legends. This was 'reality'. Quick calculations went off in his head. Shadow length? 23.4 meters. Terrain shadow count? 6 shadows inside of range. Enemy count? 18. Number of people outside of range? Zero. Too easy.


	3. Chapter 3: Angst, Villains and Heroes II

**Chapter 3: Angst, Villains, and Heroes Part II**

Ruby wiped her forehead, removing the sweat that had formed. The reason for said sweat was not because she expended a lot of effort, but because of the abnormal heat in her surroundings. The source of the heat was the multitude of fires that engulfed the fake city. According to Penny, she was inside one of the special zones of the facility. Her terrain scan revealed that the facility was built to simulate disasters, and Shikamaru was in another one. He seemed to have no problems either.

 _"Thank Dust the children are alright."_

 **"All of them are alive for now. Everyone was spread across the facility except for a couple of students as well as the injured teacher. However, my scans indicate that the hidden villains have started gathering around them. Shall we regroup with Shikamaru, Ruby? I believe that gives us the highest chance of victory against their leaders."**

 _"No, the two of us should be fine on our own for now. Besides, our priorities have changed. We need to secure the safety of the children first and foremost. Only then, can we attempt to begin the offensive against the ringleader behind this attack. I do not feel comfortable leaving the children to fend for themselves against the enemy when we do not know the capabilities of neither the students or the enemies. Thankfully, they seem to be nothing more than a mismatch group of thugs and street rats."_

 **"Confirming objectives."**

A list formed inside her mind, courtesy of Penny.

Primary:

\- Secure safety of students.

\- Call for backup from the school.

\- Assist teachers.

Secondary:

\- Locate source of signal jamming.

\- Identify enemy's goals.

 **"My scanners indicate there are two villains on par with Kurogiri. Both of them are located where the last teacher is. The teacher is holding out admirably against the thugs. However, neither villains have entered the fray yet."**

 _"We can only pray he can hold out for now. Where is the closest student?"_

 **"74.6 meters directly to your right."**

Ruby ran, rose petals flowing behind her red cape. She felt the slight exhaustion from using her semblance - no, her quirk - as she sped by building after building. Unlike when she was fifteen, using her semblance would now cause her to tire physically, not mentally. Penny calculated she could maintain this state continuously for about 15 minutes before her body gave out on her. Ruby sighed. She was never a workout freak like her sister. A fact that would need to change in the near future.

As she neared the student, her eyes darted around, identifying the 'threats'. The Caucasian/Japanese student wore a white gi, like what a martial artist would wear. Behind him, a large muscular tail waved back and forth, parrying his attackers. Their looks varied. The "My Hero Academia" universe had a diverse-looking populace. Due to the quirks being physical traits, it wasn't uncommon to see humans having mutations. The villains' attacks were unpolished and uncoordinated. Unlike the student whose moves flowed like water, many of them found themselves accidentally attacking one another when he dodged them. That being said, he was severely outnumbered. If things continued, he would get hurt sooner or later. A wise action would be to retreat and proceed to use hit-and-run tactics, but that was no longer necessary since she was here. He seemed to handle the three people around him just fine, so she focused her attack on the rest.

A fierce wind blew through the battlefield. Immediately afterwards, the villains found their vision filled with red… rose petals? The wind grew faster and faster before the air current started lifting them up off the ground. One by one they screamed as they grasped outwards trying to root themselves to the ground. She wouldn't let them. As she literally ran circles around them, she casually smacked their hands, causing them to lose their grips. Before long, nearly every villain found themselves tumbling through the air. The sky became the ground before becoming the sky once more. The cycle repeating itself for what seemed like an eternity. Then it stopped. They dropped to the ground soon after. All of them had lost conscious either due to the tornado sucking out the air in their lungs or the feeling of vertigo. The student and last 3 villains stared in shock at the one responsible. They couldn't believe that so many were taken out just like that. The girl in question stood there, her eyes closed and her cape billowing in the wind. Her red and black outfit matched with the background and painted a artistic image. Her eyes opened, revealing a pair of silver eyes that gleamed in the fire that surrounded them.

They shivered.

"I have a few questions for them, so try not to knock them unconscious." Amusement danced across her eyes. The strange look resembled that of an adult watching their kids play around in the sand. The weird thought woke Ojiro from his thoughts.

His tail wrapped itself around the throat of the one behind him, choking her. With a quick dash forward, he punched the one on his left in the chest and left him breathless. The last one finally reacted but collided with the one Ojiro threw with his tail. Before he could finish them off, the foreign girl that came through the portal appeared in front of him with rope. Just where did she get that from?

"That's enough. Good job."

He looked around him. He found that the rest of the villains had already been tied up.

That was fast.

If she found his expression amusing, she didn't show it. Instead, her expression turned serious as she squatted down next to the three who were tied up when he wasn't looking.

"I'm quite curious. It's not every day that I see a bunch of thugs attempting to assault a class of high-schoolers. So, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Fuck you girly. If you think I'm gonna tell you anything, you're sadly mistaken."

She didn't deem that worthy of a retort. It was half-assed bravado at best. She simply stabbed his thigh with the pointy end of her scythe. It was done so casually, Ojiro didn't even react until after the fact. The scream of pain didn't even faze her. She stared at him like it was just another Wednesday.

"How about now?"

"Ha… ha… Screw you."

Left thigh this time.

"Arrrrgh!" He was sweating profusely. Ojiro wanted to stop her. If she kept going, they were gonna bleed to death. She raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm trying to be a hero, so I would like it if none of you force me to do something unpleasant."

This wasn't unpleasant?!

"That being said, you and your friends are threatening the lives of all the kids here. If it means saving all of them, I would gladly forfeit yours."

She stared at the three of them. Her eyes were devoid of emotion, and they grew fearful of what was going to happen to them. Weren't they supposed to be a bunch of kids still in school? Why were things looking like they were the victims and she was the villain here! You can't switch roles like that! Ojiro quickly stepped forward before she did anything else.

"Wait! Please! They said they were here to kill All-Might! Or, at least the purple mist guy said that. The League of Villains, they called themselves. The reason you didn't know is because they said this before you two came out of the portal!"

Ruby didn't like the sound of that. Did that mean they just dropped down in the middle of the battle between One-for-All and All-for-One?

 **"I don't think so, Ruby. I believe that battle took place inside of a city. This is obviously a facility owned by UA academy. Most likely, this battle was a precursor to the one you're thinking of."**

That made sense, there were no presences that put Ruby and Shikamaru on edge here. The pressure these people gave off was nowhere near as stifling as Deku had described to them. Ruby withdrew bandages from her inventory, disguising the act by reaching behind her as if she was pulling from her back pocket. Soon, the thug was wrapped up and no longer bleeding out. Ojiro sighed in relief. What a scary girl.

"The exit is 54 meters in front of you. Regroup with your classmates. There is no guarantee every one of them is as easy to deal with as these guys."

"Wait, what will you do then?"

She was already gone. The only evidence she had been there and not a figment of his imagination was the few rose petals floating towards the ground.

\--

Izuku Midoriya waded through the shallow water slowly. He, Asui, and Mineta had been warped to the Flood Zone part of the USJ (Unforeseen Simulation Joint), stranded on a boat. They had been surrounded by at least a dozen of villains with underwater quirks. They seemed to have spread out to areas that suited their quirks. Thankfully, they were able to cleverly combine the usage of Mineta's sticky ball quirk and an application of physics to round up the villains all at once. All it cost him was two broken fingers. They were lucky the blast got all of the villians. The strategy had been a huge gamble. Normally, people would keep some in reserve underwater. He thought he was keeping his composure, but in reality, he had lost his calm. He should have been more careful-

"Midoriya, stop that. Your muttering is scaring me."

Oh, it was a habit he developed when he started thinking too much. He apologized to Asui- no, Tsuyu- err, Tsu.

"Rather than reflecting back, shouldn't you think about what to do next?"

"Y-you're right..Argh."

He winced in pain at the fingers that were a constant reminder that he had yet to master One-for-All. Tsuyu- err, Tsu and Mineta looked at him in worry.

"Are you all right, Ribbit?" she asked.

He nodded to assuage her worries while moving his elbow pad down to use as a makeshift cast.

"Y-yeah. Anyway, we should make getting help our top priority. It would be best to follow the shore and avoid the central plaza as we make our way to the exit."

They looked the way he pointed to. Asui-san nodded in agreement.

"That's true. Mr. Aizawa has drawn a large number of villains to the plaza."

The sounds of combat could be heard from where they stood. There, among the masses of villains, was the form of their homeroom teacher. He moved swiftly through them, incapacitating them slowly but surely. His form was reassuring as he jumped down to engage them when they had first appeared. However, Midoriya was inwardly worried. Mr. Aizawa, or Eraserhead, was a hero whose quirk allowed him to erase another person's quirk so long as he looked at them. But more importantly, he was more known for single takedowns. At first glance, he was dealing with all of them quite easily, but Midoriya could tell he was beginning to tire.

"He is probably overexerting himself by jumping into the crowd of villains to protect us, the students."

Mineta looked up at him, fear in his eyes.

"Wait, Midoriya, don't tell me you…You idiot! Don't be stupid!"

Midoriya shook his head in denial.

"I don't plan on doing anything that will get in his way. But, if we can find an opening and lessen Mr. Aizawa's load, even a little…"

Their powers worked on the other villains. They were obviously not as scary as they first expected. Maybe, they could help here as well. Besides, there were also the two outsiders to take into account. They seemed to be antagonistic towards the villains, but there was no guarantee the same could be said towards the students. If they suddenly joined the fray, Mr. Aizawa might crack under the pressure.

"If we do as you suggest, I hope you don't recklessly jump in, Ribbit."

"I know, Asui-san. If things look dangerous, we escape immediately."

In silence, they sneaked towards the shore. As they poked their heads up, the sight that greeted them caused them to go wide-eye with shock. Mineta slapped his hands over his mouth, not trusting himself to keep himself from screaming. Asui sank into the water again, as if surrounding herself in water made her feel safer somehow. Midoriya could feel himself shaking. His pain forgotten as the image of his teacher filled his vision. He was pinned under the arms of a large, muscular villain. The villain looked like a giant bodybuilder but with a bird head instead of a normal human's. The place where a skull normally existed to protect the brain was empty, exposing the brain for all to see. He… no, IT pulled at Mr. Aizawa's arm until a terrible crack filled the air as it proved that the arm wasn't supposed to bend that way.

"Argh!"

"You can erase quirks," the abomination's partner began. This one wore a simple black outfit, but his body was covered in what looked like a bunch of decayed hands. It made an intimidating image as they spoke clearly despite one of those hands were covering his face.

"That's wonderful, but it's nothing impressive. In the face of overwhelming power, you may as well be quirk-less."

Eraserhead tried to maintain consciousness through the pain. He turned his head and stared at the abomination. His iris developed a red outline and his hair started to float, signaling the usage of his quirk. That didn't seem to stop the thing from slamming a palm against his other elbow, cracking the concrete in the progress. It was like he was cracking a twig. This strength, he was as strong as All-Might!

"M-Midoriya, surely you must be having second thoughts, right?" Mineta whispered in fear of drawing attention.

"Ribbit…" Asui gurgled in the water. Midoriya didn't respond. The shock of the situation had left his mind in turmoil. What could they do at this point? How could they turn this grim situation around with no loss of life? The answer to their prayers was delivered with the reappearance of the purple mist villain.

He flickered into existence beside the zombie-hand villain.

"Tomura Shigaraki."

Zombie-hand, or Shigaraki, turned to his comrade.

"Kurogiri, did you kill Thirteen?"

Midoriya felt his heart leap through his chest. Did…did they kill Mr. Thirteen?

"Thirteen is out of commission. However, I was unable to disperse some of the students. One of them was able to run away."

"Huh?"

Shigaraki stilled. He suddenly scratched his chin with his right hand… then his left… It started slowly before devolving into a furious swipe as if he had come down with a rash.

"Kurugiri, you… If you weren't our warp gate, I would've crushed you to pieces."

"We can't win against dozens of pros. That's it, then. Game Over. Let's go home."

Mineta gaped, not believing his ears.

"Home?... Did he just say going home?"

"That's what they said." Asui confirmed. Tears gathered in Mineta's eyes.

"Alright! We're saved!" he said, hugging Asui in elation.

"Yes, but…" Asui stopped as Mineta copped a feel. She immediately pushed him underwater and started talking again as if she wasn't drowning a fellow student.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Midoriya."

"Yeah," he responded absently, "for them to retreat so easily after coming so far…"

Didn't they want to kill All-Might? If they left now, Midoriya knew that UA would just beef up security. "Game Over"? What was going on? What were they planning?

"Oh yeah." Shigaraki looked up as he remembered something.

"Before we leave, let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken. Let's wreck his pride!"

He turned, and Midoriya could almost swear his eyes squinted as if he was smiling. Then he realized why that looked so wrong. **He** was staring at **them**. Wait, when did he get so close? As Shigaraki's hand draw closer to Asui's face, the three of them stared in horror. The world seemed to slow, and for some reason, the image of Mr. Aizawa's elbow came to mind. Before the abomination cracked it, Midoriya had seen how unnaturally decayed it looked. The same decay that seemed to mar the hands on Shigaraki's body. The images of Aizawa's elbow, the decayed hands, and Asui's face all seemed to blend into one. Realization was followed by horror and helplessness as he came to conclusion he wouldn't make it in time. Then Shigaraki's hand stopped, his hand mere centimeters away from turning Asui to dust.

"I can't move." Shigaraki said.

"I can't move. I can't **move**. **WHY can't I move?** "

"Perhaps your body didn't feel like moving. I know I get that feeling a lot." A foreign voice said.

Midoriya looked backwards to see the boy with pineapple-shaped hair. He stood on the water, his posture casual like as if it was nothing impressive. When Midoriya looked down, he saw a pitch-black shadow extend from his feet to Shigaraki's. The same shadow that moved when he and the girl fought Kurogiri earlier.

"Kurogiri. Take care of him."

"I can't move either."

He looked to find the other two villains were also restrained. Unlike the purple mist villain, the bird-brain had the strange shadow extend onto its body. It formed a shadow-like hand that wrapped around it.

 **"Nomu."** Shigaraki commanded. So, Shadow Leaf's quirk didn't stop them from talking. He stored that thought to the back of his mind as the beast, now named Nomu, started to struggle against the bindings. Quickly, the shadow hand receded. Shadow Leaf began to sweat, and his eyes squinted in focus.

"Don't just stand there! Get out of the way!"

His shout woke them from their stupor. Asui slapped the hand away from her face as she grabbed Mineta, her tongue elongating and grabbed Midoriya as well.

"Watch out!" Midoriya shouted.

Nomu's struggle had lessened the outsider's control on Shigaraki. He had started reaching out for Asui once more. Crap, crap, crap, crap! One-for-All flowed through his right arm. He didn't want to use this power against living beings since his control wasn't quite there yet. However, these villains were clearly different from the rest of them. They had to go all out!

"Smaaaaash!"

Large gusts of wind and water were formed by the force of his punch. He prayed he didn't kill them as Midoriya felt his punch connect. He opened his eyes that had closed instinctively. His arm, it wasn't broken? Did he finally learn to control One-for-All? Now, of all times? Elation turned into despair as he took in the details in front of him. Muscular, purple skin, riddled with scars, were in front of him. When he looked up, what stared back was not a face with decayed hands, but a bird with razor sharp teeth. It stared at him blankly. His punch… had no effect? Asui's words ten minutes prior came to the forefront of his mind.

 _"Don't you think they're trying so hard because they have a way to kill him?"_

All-Might's power came from his quirk, One-for-All, and now Midoriya had inherited this power as his successor. If his punch had no effect on Nomu, then… The severity of that thought left Midoriya in a daze. He did not realize Nomu had grabbed him until it was too late.

"Your move, "Smash" … Are you a follower of All-Might's?" Shigaraki asked from behind Nomu.

"Oh well. I'm done with you."

Those words were all Nomu needed to hear as his eyes rolled back towards Midoriya. He moved his arm upwards slowly, ignoring the fact Shadow Leaf had possessed his body. Shadow Leaf's hand flashed through a couple of hand signs.

"Shadow Wall Jutsu."

True to its name, a wall of shadows rose from the ground beneath Nomu, separating him from Midoriya, and cutting off its arm in the process. An inhumane scream of pain left the beast's mouth as it took a few steps backwards. In the meantime, Shadow Leaf grabbed Midoriya with one hand and retreated with Asui and Mineta in the other. As they did, Midoriya noted that Shigaraki and Kurogiri was doing the same thing. Then, he realized they were simply copying Shadow Leaf's movements. Shadow Leaf and the rest of them made it to Mr. Aizawa before the shadow linking Shadow Leaf and the villains was disconnected.

"Troublesome," he remarked.

"So, you can control shadows, huh. That's quite the convenient power there. But it looks like it's possible to overpower it, and Nomu's got that in spades. Did you really think students like yourselves can compete with the likes of us?"

"You brag about it quite a lot, but it has quite the weakness." Shadow Leaf retorted.

"Oh, and what's that?"

He smirked.

"That thing, Nomu, was it? Nomu deals with blunt force trauma just fine, but it seems piercing attacks are quite effective. And without one of its arms, it's power has definitely decreased significantly."

"I suppose it's a good thing it can regrow it then, isn't it?"

They once again watched in shock as the flesh around its arm pulsated before growing and reforming into a new arm. Shigaraki grinned behind his hand-mask.

"This is why you are amateurs. Didn't you know stalling for time is quite the useful tactic? What will you do now?"

"I suppose we'll just cut it over and over until it stops regenerating."

Shigaraki blinked. That was not a boy's voice but a girl's. Rose petals floated into view as alarms went off in his head. He ducked on instinct only. The scythe swinging past his head and slicing towards Nomu. Nomu turned towards the girl and punched her in the face. She did not expect it to react to her speed and was struck by the blow. Her form bounced off the concrete and crashed into the wall behind Midoriya and the others. They turned, fearing she was dead. Shikamaru, knowing better, just sighed at her antics.

"Holy Dust, that scared me."

Rose petals floated in the wind that didn't exist before reforming into a girl with short, black hair that turned crimson at the tips. She wore a black and red outfit and a red cape settled on her back. She smiled as if she hadn't just rammed into metal. Shikamaru didn't comment on it. He just relayed the information he just gathered, speaking, instead of signing it in order to extend the conversation.

"Their goal is the death of All-Might. The key player is Nomu, the bird faced villain. It isn't mentally there, and it takes orders only from Shigaraki, the hands guy. Nomu has abnormal strength, speed, and both shock-absorption and regeneration quirk. Shigaraki's hands decay whatever it touches."

He then held up four fingers. Only 40% of his chakra reserves were left. She nodded in understanding and held up five of her own. Midoriya and the others stared at them. They still wanted to fight? Even after all that?

"You sure you want to fight, brats? You barely got away as it is," he sneered.

Ruby looked at him in amusement.

"You're not very bright, are you, child?" He growled at her.

"Did you really think Shadow Leaf would start bantering with you for no reason? I can't even get him to leave the bed on the days we have work!"

They stared at her, uncomprehending. Midoriya and the others also looked at her in confusion. She rolled her eyes at the lot of them. Shikamaru stared at the entrance of the facility. Anytime, now…

"Allow me to throw your words right back at you. Didn't you know stalling for time is quite the useful tactic?" she smirked as realization dawned on his face.

Midoriya stared back and forth between Crimson Harvest and Shadow Leaf in admiration. From the moment either of them stepped into the battle, their moves were quick, efficient, and done with purpose. Their skills were spoken for, given how both of them got the drop on the villains without their knowledge. He imagined she announced her presence on purpose as well. If he had to guess, it was most likely to gauge their threat level. That wasn't the only thing either. The scariest part was her charisma. Just moments later, she had unknowingly pulled them into a conversation, buying even more precious time. The villains had forgotten that they were on a time table. They had lost themselves in the heat of the battle.

"You…you..!" Shigaraki trembled in anger.

"Me." She smiled back mockingly.

 **Bang!**

 **"Have no fear, students,"**

Shikamaru relaxed his shoulders but remained vigilant. The Symbol of Peace was here, and he was furious.

 **"For I am here!"**

Author's Note: I meant to get farther, but the chapter was longer than expected. So, this will be part 2.


	4. Chapter 4: Hero and Huntress

**Chapter 4: Hero and Huntress**

The effect was immediate. With just a simple shout, he declared his presence to the world. A sense of relief spread through the bodies of all the students who heard his voice. The villains, on the other hand, felt a sense of anticipation as their true target finally arrived. Ruby gave a sad smile as the world's Symbol of Peace stepped forward and ripped off his tie with a single hand. He was no doubt feeling the frustration of hearing the children's cry of happiness at the arrival of their savior. For the fact they feel such happiness meant they had felt pain.

Her eyes followed the figure of the man as he darted past the various grunts that jumped forward to greet him. Despite his anger, he did not respond to the villains' jeers. A simple punch for each one, and each one knocked the fodder unconscious. Before long, he arrived at their location. He stood in front of them. His back imposed an intimidating figure towards the three ringleaders while it reassured the three students behind him.

Charisma was an important aspect of one's character. As a huntress, Ruby understood its importance was equal to one's capabilities in a fight. The creatures of Grimm hunted humans based on their attraction to negative emotions. Thus, when the population is uneasy and panicking, it was their job to ease their worries. To young Ruby, this was no easy task. She became a huntress much earlier than any others in her age group. She was nervous, energetic, and at many times, acted childish in order to be doted on. This was a course of action she was familiar with ever since her mother died when she was a child.

But that was no longer an option. Ever since she had been moved up two years and became the leader of Team RWBY, the expectations held for her changed. To villagers, a nervous, excitable girl was not a figure that inspired hope in what was a bleak situation, only worry.

So, she adapted.

Gone was the incompetent klutz, a genius weaponsmith in her place. No longer was she a hyperactive brat. Instead, she became an observant friend. Enemies no longer judged her as a child playing hero, but as the woman named Crimson. Unless, of course, she wanted them to.

An image was a powerful thing after all. Ruby could be approachable. Shika could seem insignificant. The Symbol of Peace, though, was like a magnet. A man who purposefully draws the attention of everyone. An existence that wouldn't let you ignore it. Ruby felt her heart speed up slightly despite her usual calm. That was how much of an impact All-Might had.

"Huh? Eh?!" the shortest child squawked. She didn't blame him. If she had not been augmenting her eyes with aura, she probably would have missed it too.

"Everyone, back to the entrance." All-Might said to them.

"Take Aizawa with you. He doesn't have much time."

Ruby agreed with the assessment. The teacher's injuries needed immediate treatment. Penny's scans indicate that if he wasn't stabilized soon, there would be long-lasting repercussions.

"Excuse me, young ones."

Referring to Shika and herself, probably. He turned his head slightly. She could see his glowing blue eyes in the shadow of his face looking at them, judging them. They were not students. Their attendance was suspicious, but he was not hostile.

"Can I entrust my students to you?"

He did not need to worry. There was no way she would allow harm to befall the children in her presence. She nodded, and her body faded into rose petals. The petals flowed underneath the one named Aizawa and formed a soft bed that floated up and carried his unconscious body towards the entrance. She gently laid him down and reformed herself. Shika arrived with the other kids in tow soon after. Cries of worry came from the other students already at the entrance when they saw the prone form of their teacher. She did not respond to their questions as she withdrew supplies from her inventory and began first-aid treatment. As she did so, Penny recorded the injuries and stored them away for later research. Then, she injected a syringe filled with a special healing booster to help stabilize his condition. She still had some senzu beans, but they were a powerful resource that was best only used during times of emergency. She judged the teachers' injuries would recover just fine after being sent to the hospital. With All-Might here, there was no longer an immediate need for allies.

She stood up and found that Shika had also done first-aid for the other teacher. He nodded to let her know he was done. She got Penny to scan everyone present. With the exception of a few students who were rapidly approaching, everyone was accounted for. Minor injuries were present, but none that was life-threatening and needed treatment. Ruby turned to observe the fight when a tremor was felt. A large cloud of dust had risen due to whatever had occurred. As it disappeared, a look of concern spread across everyone's visage. All-Might had done a German suplex in an attempt to limit Nomu's movement underneath the concrete. Unfortunately, Kurogiri had opened a gate right then and now the top half of Nomu reappeared underneath All-Might and clutched onto his ribs. From here, she could see a patch of blood forming on his button up shirt.

 _Strange._ _All-Might's reflexes and strength should have easily been enough to dodge that. What happened?_

Shigaraki began his monologue, once again bragging about Nomu's traits like a child with a new toy. Ruby's eyes darted to the thin frame of Deku, whose teeth were clenched in worry. Understanding passed through her eyes. One-for-All was a quirk that could be passed on to other people. Since Deku now has it, All-Might might gradually be getting weaker. She had forgotten that since Neotopia can resurrect oneself at their prime.

Then, Deku, in all his infinite wisdom, jumped down to help his mentor. Ruby and Shika dashed forward to both protect him and help All-Might. She noted, in the corner of her eye, a trail of ice rapidly approaching on the ground as the last three students made their entrance. Kurogiri opened a portal in front of Deku to stop him from interfering, but he had chosen the wrong target. She activated her 'quirk' and shot forward past the both of them and stopped next to Nomu and All-Might. A swing of her scythe separated the arms of Nomu from his body, freeing the Symbol of Peace.

"Out of my way, Deku!"

A small boom occurred behind the two of them. A quick look told her that a blond boy with gauntlets in the shape of large grenades had pinned down the mist user. He looked like a much younger version of Bakugou. A shadow connected Shika and Deku, preventing him from falling into the portal he almost ran into. The trail of ice finally arrived and encased the body of Nomu entirely. The ice user stepped forward and spoke out.

"The Symbol of Peace will not be taken down by the likes of you."

"Haaaaaa!"

The red-haired boy with no shirt landed, missing his strike on Shigaraki. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Damn it, I didn't get to show off!"

Ruby sweatdropped. This was neither the time, nor the place. She got All-Might's attention.

"Nomu has a shock-absorption as well as regeneration quirk. He also possesses power and speed that are above a normal human's as you might already know. It will not be long before he regrows his arms and escape the prison of ice."

"Multiple quirks? That's..." All-Might trailed off. The image of a certain villain came to mind.

"Man, kids these days are impressive." Shigaraki noted as if it had nothing to do with him. "They make the League of Villains look bad... Nomu."

The statue of ice cracked at its name being called. It ignored the fact that the act of freeing itself had caused it to lose both of its legs as well. Ruby blinked in amazement. Just how far would one have to go in order to put him down? Would stabbing the heart or head stop it? That would mean killing it, though. She looked at Shigaraki. Perhaps, fighting it wouldn't even be necessary.

"Everyone get back!" All-Might yelled. The students followed his command. She and Shika did not. All-Might frowned but was interrupted by Shigaraki's boasting once more.

"Nomu was modified to take you on at 100%. He's like a highly efficient punching bag that hits back. But first, let's get back our gate. Nomu, go."

Ruby dashed forward at Shigaraki as Nomu passed her. She knew now that Nomu was an experiment of some sort. It was a dog that followed orders, but it definitely wouldn't act without orders. Since its orders were to retrieve the gate, it wouldn't protect its owner. Shigaraki widen his eyes in shock. She zipped around him, petals obscuring his vision. He swung his hands at her in an attempt to retaliate. A mistake.

Her blade nicked at his body, cutting his muscles. His arms dropped uselessly. His ankles were next. He fell to his knees. She smacked the hand covering his face, and then she stuffed his mouth with a towel from her inventory. No more commands meant Nomu was no longer an issue. She pointed her scythe at him. He stared at her with hatred in his eyes. If he dared to spit out the towel, she would cut off his tongue. The sound of collision echoed behind her, but she did not worry. She dashed forward because of her trust in her comrades. The children may or may not respond in time, but Shika and All-Might definitely would. She repositioned herself so that she would be able to keep an eye on Shigaraki while confirming the safety of the people behind her.

Nomu stood there unmoving after successfully getting the younger Bakugou off of Kurogiri. The sound had come from Nomu attempting to punch him into the wall behind them. The one who took the blow was All-Might, however. He could be seen panting with his arms crossed in front of him, guarding against the blow. A trail in the concrete followed his feet from where he took the punch. Despite being free from the blonde's palms, Kurogiri was frozen because Shika had possessed him with his shadow.

"Do you not know how to hold back?" All-Might asked.

She could hear the simmering anger hidden in his voice. All-Might blinked in shock as he took in the villains around him. They were detained. The sound of footsteps came from the entrance. A loud voice accompanied it.

"Sorry, everyone! I gathered everyone who was available!"

The form of various U.A. faculty members flooded into the facility. A lone student among them stood tall and yelled out in glee.

"I, Tenya Iida, class 1-A representative, have now returned!"

The battle was over. They had won.

 **\- Later that day -**

The police and paramedics arrived soon after. The villains were locked up and sent away, while the injured teachers were sent to the hospital to get further treatment. Now, Ruby and Shikamaru sat on the couch in the office of U.A. academy's principal who happened to be a giant, white, humanoid mouse wearing a suit. The principal turned to them.

"Would either of you like some tea?"

They both nodded.

"Thank you," she said. It had been a long day. From jumping dimensions, to saving children, and finally answering the interrogation from the police. They had done quite a lot, and the peace and quiet was appreciated. She sighed in relief after taking a sip. A knock on the door was heard.

"Come in," the principal said.

It opened to reveal the form of All-Might still in his torn outfit. He would have to wait until he got home before he could change.

"You called for me, Principal Nezu?"

"Yes, our dear guests here requested you to be present before they spoke any further."

"I see..."

He stared at the two of them with a look Ruby couldn't interpret. Penny's voice resounded in her head.

 **"I've blocked all surveillance cameras and scanned the perimeter. It's just the four of you now."**

 _"Thank you, Penny."_

She coughed to clear her throat.

"There is no need to force yourself, All-Might. We are aware of One-for-All."

The tension in the room skyrocketed. They did not flinch. She stared at the Symbol of Peace. Once he did not sense hostility, a poof of smoke formed around his body. A moment later, a thin, scraggly man took his place. She blinked in surprise. If she didn't already know he had such a form, she might have gasped in shock. Still, this was the first time she saw him like this, so she couldn't help but examine him closely. He was shorter and lacked any noticeable muscles. His short hair was now disheveled. The previously form-fitting clothes now hung loosely as they were many sizes too big for him. Penny told her that he hid an old injury on his left side, and he was missing an entire stomach. She flinched at the findings.

"How do you know about this form?" he asked.

"Are you aware of how we came here?"

"You told the police you were traveling through a warp quirk of some kind, but the villain's quirk, along with Thirteen's, had interfered with the gate you two went through."

"That's correct for the most part. There is something else we didn't mention though, and for good reason. We come from a parallel universe."

The two people blinked. They wanted to refute the claim but was silenced by their guests' serious expressions.

"I'm sorry. What?" All-Might asked in disbelief.

"More accurately, we come from the future." she elaborated. "We know of your quirk, your fight with All-for-One, and that Izuku Midoriya is your successor. We know this because this is information that Deku shared with us personally."

A small white lie. She initially found out about him through the database available in Neotopia, but he had elaborated on his history after they became friends. All-Might stood there in shock at the revelation while Nezu put his paw on his chin with a contemplating look on his face.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the villains' goals and their backers?" Nezu asked.

"We aren't sure of the specifics since we weren't there when it happened. But yes, we can tell you for certain that All-for-One backs the League of Villains."

All-Might clenched his fist at the name of his nemesis. So, he was right after all. Nomu was that man's handiwork. Ruby felt that divulging this much was fine. They didn't plan on being such an influence on the timeline initially, but since they were here, why not help out All-Might increase his chances of victory? She withdrew a senzu bean from her inventory.

"All-Might. Please eat this."

He took the bean into his hand. He looked at it cautiously.

"What is it?"

"It's a bean that was created through a friend's quirk. If you eat it, it'll heal your injuries. All of them."

He looked at her in shock. Could he trust her? Did such a powerful thing really exist? He stared at his hand that clutched the healing item. Memories flashed through his mind. The endless surgeries. The despair he felt when he first timed how long he could hold his form. The worry in his sidekick's face when he looked into his future. His colleagues staring at him with pity. The countless faces of the masses as they stared in hope for their Symbol of Peace. Could he afford to not try? But what if she was lying? This was the same girl who didn't hesitate in cutting off a living human's arms. The same girl that didn't flinch when blood splashed on her face. Movement occurred in front of him. He looked up in shock to see her bowing.

"Deku is a splendid hero. He has saved my life countless times. One of his biggest regrets was that he did not discover this cure sooner. That he did not help you sooner. Please, trust us."

He berated himself. How could he not see the sincerity behind her words? She might have taken extreme measures, but was it not her who protected his students? Was it not her who allowed Aizawa to shorten his recover time to only a week? Was it not her that took the first step to approach? With trembling hands, Toshinori Yagi brought the small bean to his mouth. He chewed slowly. The bean was tasteless. He swallowed.

Nothing.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a warm feeling seeped throughout his body. His blood pulsated. His arms expanded as the lost muscles reformed. He could feel his stomach and respiratory system healing. He closed his eyes as he reveled in his newfound vitality. He opened his eyes. They were shorter. No, he had gotten taller.

"All-Might...Look." Principle Nezu said.

He turned his head towards the mirror held in Nezu's paws. He was in his buffed-up - no, his normal - form. Emotions flooded his heart. Tears that he couldn't hold back flowed freely. He was back. The power he had thought lost had returned.

"I... I don't know what to say. Miss Rose, you don't know how much this means to me."

She smiled gently.

"No, thank you for raising a splendid hero."

All-Might wiped the tears from his face. God, he was turning into young Midoriya.

"All-Might," Nezu spoke up, "how do you feel?"

"I feel fantastic. The injuries are gone. It's like they never happened... However, I can tell it's diminishing slowly. I suspect it is because young Midoriya now holds One-for-All. Right now, I think I can hold this form indefinitely without fighting. If I were to use my power though..."

They nodded in understanding.

"Miss Rose, please speak. Is there anything we could do to return this favor?"

Ruby nodded.

"Can you please enroll us in the Hero department?"

Since they were here, why not pose as students. It would let them protect the children if another situation were to occur. All-Might turned towards the principal. It was his call to make.

"Unfortunately, that isn't possible." Nezu rejected.

"Every year, we give out the same opportunity to all the youths in Japan. Then, we choose 40 students who we deemed qualified to be in the Hero course. It would draw too many complaints if we were to suddenly choose two strangers and admit them into the course. Although, I could get the two of you into the Support Course or General Studies-"

"That's no good."

They looked at her in shock. Even Shika was surprised by her outburst. She ignored the looks.

"This is nothing but a precursor to your final fight against All-for-One. From what I understand, the students will run into the villains again. If we are students, we can help ensure the safety of the students."

"You raise good points, Miss Rose. However, are you two not students yourselves?"

She shook her head.

"Despite how we look, I am actually 24 years old."

 _Technically, I'm much older than that, but they don't need to know that._

They blinked before turning to Shika.

"I'm 25." he stated simply.

"We believe it is a side-effect of traveling backwards in time." she lied.

They nodded in understanding. It was easier this way rather than explaining the concept of Neotopia.

"Couldn't you make an exception for them?" All-Might pleaded. He would not feel right rejecting a request from his benefactors.

Nezu laughed as a wry grin formed on his face.

"Actually, I do have a way. As I was saying, we can enroll you as Support or General Studies students. Then, if you two perform well during the U.A. festival, we can promote you two to the Hero course."

Ruby flushed in embarrassment. What calm? What observant? She should have let him finish instead of becoming so impatient. All-Might and Nezu chuckled at her.

"Cough... If that's the case, can I join the Support course then? Shika, which do you prefer?"

"Can I not become a student?"

She gave him a bland look.

"Sigh... I guess General Studies would work too."

"That aside, is there anything else you two need? I assume you two need living arrangements still?"

 **"I have already reserved a place for residence."**

"Thank you, but I think we'll be fine."

"If you're sure... Well, I think that's enough for today. It's getting late, and we can continue this talk at a later date. Miss Rose, Mr. Nara, please don't worry. Your secret is safe with us. Also please pick up you uniforms at the front desk on your way out. It's been a pleasure meeting you both."

"Thank you for everything you two."

"Likewise."

The two of them waved goodbye and promptly closed the door behind them. They stood in silence until they could no longer hear their footsteps.

"What do you think?" All-Might asked.

"...I think they can be trusted for now."

Nezu walked up to his desk. He pushed a button on his desk phone.

"Beep. Beep. Click... Hello?"

"Nemuri, please prepare two U.A. uniforms for a male and female. They'll be attending U.A. starting tomorrow. They should arrive soon."

"...But, I was about to go home."

"You have my gratitude."

"...Fine, I want overtime pay though. Click."

Nezu stared out the window behind his desk. The sunset shined into the room. All-Might stood there in silence, letting the principal think.

"The chances of them being double agents are low. Even if they were, our faculty will be able to observe so long as they stay inside our school. We can also cooperate with the police to make sure they don't betray us when we aren't looking. But, that is only if they are part of the enemy forces. If they are on our side, we have truly hit the jackpot. Depending on their information, we could prevent disasters and put an end to All-for-One once and for all... It's been a long day for all of us. All-Might, you should go rest. Preserve your newfound strength while you can."

All-Might nodded and said goodbye. He clicked the down behind him and walked and purpose in his steps. He clenched his fist. All-for-One, watch yourself. When he makes his move, he would be ready.

- **On the way to the 'apartment' -**

Ruby stared at the uniform the R-rated hero, Midnight, gave to them as they walked down the sidewalk. Memories of her time at Beacon came back to her.

"You seem pleased."

She nodded.

"I know we were supposed to relax for our vacation, but since we landed in this period, I figured why not use this chance to help out Deku and All-Might. Maybe we can see the making of a legend."

"You sure that's the reason why?"

She tilted an eyebrow at him. She stuffed the uniform into her inventory.

"What do you mean, Shika?"

He didn't look at her.

"I don't mind if we help provide information that only we would know. However, I didn't expect you to insist signing up as students."

She snorted at his laziness.

"Oh, come on, it's not THAT bad. I know you've never been to high school before, Shika, but you'll breeze through it just fine."

"That's not what I meant."

She tilted her head in confusion but remained silent.

"Our goal is relaxation, to have fun, and unwind. If you wanted to help them, you could've just provided the information and then left. But instead, you actively began involving yourself by thrusting yourself into the school."

"They're just children, Shika. We don't know the full history of this universe, only short snippets from Deku. For all we know, the final fight could happen tomorrow."

"Exactly, we DON'T know everything. This is just one among the infinite versions of this universe. For all we know, the course of events could be totally different. We don't understand what kind of influence the quirks had on Neotopia's dimension gate. In a situation where we didn't understand everything, we should pull back and observe. What we're doing now is going against our original goals and can have horrible consequences."

She gritted her teeth in frustration. Why was he fighting with her about this? She didn't understand.

"So there are infinite amount of universes out there and our actions might not matter in the long run. So what? The children could be in danger. The closer we are to them, the easier it is to protect them, and I'll be damned before I give up on them without trying."

"If you wanted to protect them, you didn't have to be a student. But even that was within my expectations. You couldn't turn your back on someone in need. I get that. It's a part of who you are. But, that's not what surprised me. It wasn't the fact you wanted to be a student, but the fact you insisted on joining the **Hero** course."

She shut her mouth, her face turning carefully neutral. So that's what this was about. Shikamaru turned and stared at her, studying her before continuing.

"...I noticed you were also getting pretty arrogant back there in the facility. You looked down on them."

"Is it so surprising, though? We're immortals. We've ascended past the limits of what is human. Those villains didn't stand a-"

"I wasn't referring to the villains."

"You looked down on the students. You don't trust their skills. And you certainly don't like Deku."

Ruby Rose was a woman who had experienced much in her life. She didn't tell him everything, but he hung around her enough to know the topic of Deku was a sore one for her. It was the truth that he saved her many times, but she wasn't happy with it. Every time she looked at him, every time she compared the two of them, she went into a state of depression. That instance inside the void was just one of the more recent examples. Deku was a man who became a **hero** and saved lives. Crimson Harvest was a woman who failed to become a **hero** and became a **huntress**. Shikamaru carefully considered his next words.

"Look, I'm not telling you to give up on helping them. I'm just worried your past demons are coming back to haunt you. When I first saw you break down, I almost thought you were gonna end it all. It took us forever to get you back to where you are today. Remember who you are, Ruby. You might not be a hero by this universe's standards, but you are one by mine."

She let out a long sigh. Her face dropped the facade covering her insecurities.

"I'm sorry, Shika. It's just... I've failed so many times. Turning so young again, I just couldn't help but think...'What if I became a hero like Deku? What if I'm too slow like before, and someone died because of that?' It haunted me until the day I died. I just didn't want to be the same person as I once was."

She felt an arm wrapped around her, his warm hand on her shoulder.

"You ARE different, Ruby. You've grown so much since then. You've just been tricking yourself into thinking like you haven't because you met Deku who stubbornly sticks to his values even after death. You can admire his values because you once had them yourself, but you changed your values for a reason, and you became a better person in the end. You shouldn't hate yourself for that, Ruby. That's what it means to be a part of Neotopia, remember?"

She grinned.

"Pursue 'progress', right? Thanks, Shika."

She kissed his cheek, before skipping out of his grasp. She knew full well he had stopped on the sidewalk in shock. For all his words, the man ran away from his own feelings just as much as she did hers. He had let it slip just then though. Too bad he was so loyal, but that was okay. Time solves everything, and she had plenty of it. As she arrived at their destination, she slowed to a stop.

 _"Penny, I thought you said you got us an apartment. Why did it turn into a house?"_

 **"I did not specify that it was an apartment. Only a place of residence."**

 _"We don't need such a large amount of space. At most, we would need two rooms and a kitchen."_

 **"I disagree, Ruby. You need space to perform your experiments. Unlike in Neotopia, we don't have space-expanded rooms. Plus, you can have sleepovers with your classmates and talk about cute boys!"**

Ruby rolled her eyes at the eternal teen inside her head. As she grasped the doorknob, she realized that she sensed a living being inside their home. One that definitely wasn't supposed to be there. She smiled as she recognized the presence. She rapped her fist against the entrance, and then she hugged her friend that opened the door.

"Sans!"

"Sup," the skeleton waved his gloved hand in response. He wore a blue jacket with a white fur hood over a plain white undershirt, and a pair of black shorts. She noted he was wearing blue slippers this time, instead of his usual sneakers. She let go of him before the three of them going back into the house. They sat in the already decorated living room.

"Why are you here?" Shika asked.

"Yang and the others were wondering why you two never showed up at the agreed meeting place, so they sent me to go find you."

"Yeah, we were intercepted by the rebels. They damaged the podium in the process, so we couldn't come. Thankfully, a weird coincidence occurred between a black hole quirk and a warp quirk, and it opened the gate in the process."

"Oh, so that's why you're a shrimp. Okay then, I'll go tell the others then. We'll head over soon."

"What? Why? No need to cut your own vacation short on my account."

He rolled his eyes.

"Knowing you, you probably got involved with saving someone again. You wouldn't leave so soon after promising to help them, even if you could just jump backwards in time."

She looked away with a slight blush on her face, only to see Shika looking at her with an "I told you so" expression.

"Hey, look at it this way. At least the two of you got a head start on the challenge."

She tilted her head. Shika was similarly confused.

"What challenge?"

"You haven't checked the forum yet? Neotopia posted a new challenge. Torture yourself to a universe's laws without protection of Neotopia's dimension gates. The longer you last, the better your rewards."

Ruby took out a transparent laptop from her inventory and turned it on. As it connected to Neotopia, she stated that they had no opportunity to check during all the chaos that happened today. When she pulled it up, Shika looked over her shoulder to read.

 **Unique Elite Challenge #45:**

 **Legends! Gather around! Those who are ignorant of the might a universe possesses, prepare yourselves! Subject yourself to a universe's laws without the protection of our gates and understand where your limits lie. Those who pass the challenge will find yourself at new heights!**

 ** _Deadline: 1 year after starting the challenge._**

 ** _Prerequisite:_**

 ** _\- Your body's state must be less than 5% your normal state in Neotopia._**

 ** _\- You must survive without the help of healing items for at least 7 Earth days (168 Earth hours)._**

 ** _\- You must change universes every 1 Earth month (720 Earth hours)._**

 ** _\- (Unique only) You can only attempt this challenge once._**

 ** _\- (Elite only) You must be ranked 1-1000 in any leaderboard._**

 ** _Rewards:_**

 ** _Your body's potential is doubled._**

 ** _\- (1st Place Only) Your body's potential is doubled._**

 ** _\- (2nd Place and above) One trait of your choosing is amplified permanently by 10 (plus 0.01*every additional day rounded down) %_**

 ** _\- (3rd Place and above) Your body's attributes are increased by 1(plus 0.001*every additional hour rounded down)%_**

 _Challenge Leaderboard_

 _1st - Ruby Rose (4.5 Earth hours)_

 _2nd - Shikamaru Nara (4.5 Earth hours)_

 _3rd - Vegeta_ _Breigh (3.8 Earth hours)_

 _4th - Vali Lucifer (3.6 Earth hours)_

 _5th - Rock Lee (3.6 Earth hours)_

Ruby's mouth dropped to the ground. What ludicrous rewards! Just the first one made the challenge worth it. Double potential meant doubling the speed at which one grows. The rest was self-explanatory.

"Holy Dust! Shika, we're in the lead!"

Shika whistled as he reread the rules, making sure not to miss anything.

"Why is it so generous?"

Sans laughed at his question.

"Ha! A universe's laws could kill you if you aren't strong enough. The fact is, you two lucked out big time by eating that red senzu bean before jumping through. Everyone else is probably sweating in a cave somewhere far from society while you guys get to relax and go to school."

Ruby smiled. Naturally, this meant they now had to recover by natural means at all costs. They had to be extra careful who they pick their fights with. But that was a small issue. So long as they lived their lives peacefully past the week, everything would be worth it.

"Sans," Shika spoke up, "how did you know we ate a red senzu bean?"

Oh yeah. She never said that.

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

Right, omnipotent skeleton of judgement. He stood up from the couch and with a wave of his hand, he pulled a dimension gate and its podium into existence.

"Well, I'm off to tell them where you are. Have fun."

"See ya, Sans!"

"Bye."

He waved a gloved hand at them and walked through the white portal. Soon after, the gate and podium disappeared. Ruby turned to Shika and stared. He stared back. They burst into movement.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"...Damn."

"Haha! Scissors reign supreme!"

She bounced towards the shower in glee.

 **"...You do know you two aren't living in an apartment anymore, right?"**

"...Cough."


	5. Chapter 5: Declaration of War

**Chapter 5: Declaration of War**

Shikamaru shifted to and fro uncomfortably. The U.A. uniform consisted of a white button-up shirt with a tie and gray blazer to match. The girls had to wear a black skirt, but the guys' uniform had black khakis instead. Personally, he thought the getup was restrictive and full of weaknesses waiting to be exploited. He pulled at the neck-trap to loosen it just enough to give him breathing room. At the sound of the teacher calling him in, he stepped forward with his posture slouched and hands inside his pockets. His eyes scanned the room, noting the lack of windows and rather high ceiling. The desks were organized in rows and columns with twenty in total. As for the students themselves, they were... hostile. Some were apathetic. Others had a curious look on their face, but many directed ill intent at him.

He could understand where they were coming from to an extent. Last night, Penny shared the information she had gathered while they were busy with the principal. With them being stuck here for the foreseeable future, intelligence was crucial. Luckily, they had a high-tech, self-learning A.I. on their side. The information was illuminating, to say the least. U.A. academy had a diverse curriculum that branched off into four main departments and a total of 11 classes (named A through K) per school year.

Management courses I, J, and K focuses on all aspects of the hero business side. This included topics anywhere from founding and managing hero agencies to capitalism.

Support courses F, G, and H focuses on developing tools to help aspiring heroes on the battlefield. They had a entire building set aside to provide a healthy workspace for creative minds to shine. Ruby's wet dream.

Hero courses A and B, however, were the main attractions. They accepted a total of 40 students every year. It was a cruel and minuscule amount when compared to the hundreds that applied and for good reason. Nearly every one of U.A.'s graduating heroes becomes an influential figure. Of the current top 10, three of them were U.A. alumni, one of them being All-Might himself.

Finally, there was his department, classes C, D, and E of General Education. They were composed of the failures who didn't pass the Hero entrance exams. Some were hopefuls that prayed for promotion into classes A and B. Others were wanderers who decided to pursue a college education when they gave up trying. Realistically, not everyone could be promoted to Class A or B. It was a fight for dominance, and he was an obstacle in their way.

"Well, go ahead and introduce yourself." Their teacher gestured with his hand.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

They waited for more. He yawned. There was no need to give more information than necessary. It was inconsequential in the long run, and he was too lazy to try for the sake of conversation. The teacher points to a purple-haired boy when he realizes that there was nothing else.

"You can sit in the empty seat beside Shinso in the back."

Shikamaru walks over towards him, his steps being just loud enough to be heard. As he nears a desk, the owner sticks out their tail in an obvious attempt to trip him. The action doesn't go unnoticed by those present, but none calls them out. Some students look on expectantly while the teacher watched with a disappointed look on his face. Shikamaru takes this in and sighs inwardly.

This was why he would rather slack off and passed himself off as the second worst student back when he was a young academy student. Showing off only brought more trouble than it was worth. He even purposefully tried to come off as unimpressive. Although, it seems that only made him seem like an easy target for bullying. Most likely it was supposed to be a show of strength of some sort. Trying to crush his spirit and remove the potential competition. What a drag.

Despite the numerous thoughts running through his mind, only a moment had passed. He continued walking with a small amount of chakra pumping in his leg. He brushes past the tail as if it wasn't even there. The girl wasn't quite as lucky. She yelped in surprise as his movements dragged her off the chair and onto the floor. The students blinked in surprise. Wasn't this quite backwards?

He continued walking and proceeded to sit down at his assigned desk in the corner. His neighbor was a lanky teen with, upon closer look, not purple but indigo hair. There were dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Shinso nodded to Shikamaru in greeting. Despite his surprise, Shikamaru returned the nod. Their attention was directed to the front as the teacher began reprimanding the student.

"Natsumi, while I understand your drive and desire for promotion, nobody who would stoop to such tactics would ever be considered a hero. I'll overlook it this time, but if I ever see anything like that again, I will have you expelled. Do you understand me?"

The girl froze in shock at the harsh punishment before meekly nodding her head. The teacher then turned to the rest of the class.

"That goes for all of you. I don't care if you are pursuing a future in college, hero, or support. I will NOT condone any bullying. You all are better than that, and the fact you attend one of the most prestigious academies is proof of that. Do not let a moment of jealousy and selfishness change that, or your stay here will be exceedingly short. Do I make myself clear?"

A chorus of confirmation rang out in reply. With introductions done, they finally began homeroom. As the day went on, Shikamaru was impressed by the curriculum. It was quite advanced according to what he understood was normal for high school students. The lessons followed a similar format as his time in the ninja academy. During certain time periods, certain topics would be taught and quizzed on. And while some subjects were new, Shikamaru eventually lost interest and began daydreaming.

The lessons were taught by the teachers responsible for their respective classes, but they were optimized by Principal Nezu himself in order to be cover many topics as they could while still being easy to understand. The fact he paid so much attention in the beginning was a miracle in itself and a testament to how well put together the lessons were.

 _'Then again, I should expect nothing less considering who designed them.'_

Principal Nezu was a figure widely known much like the famous heroes that graduated from his school but for totally different reasons. Unlike other humans who may develop quirks that cause them to acquire animal-like features, Nezu was originally a laboratory experiment that evolved and gained above human intelligence. The originally 4-inch mouse now stood 4 feet tall with a vengeance for his captors. The details of his retaliation weren't clear to the public, but he was rumored to be behind the series of accidents that caused the collapse of the facility that held him captive. When Penny told them the details, Shikamaru couldn't help but admire how careful and meticulous he was.

The 'accidents' were far too numerous to be mere coincidences. However, video evidence and DNA tests proved that only the staff of the facility were responsible for said accidents. Any accusations against him were nullified since Nezu himself was sitting comfortably in a police station with multiple officers serving as his alibi while all the events were taking place. Faced with such an individual, the police could not legally put him behind bars even if they wanted to. Shikamaru didn't blame Nezu for his hatred against his captors. The facility had been a target of the police force for quite some time as it was suspected of criminal activity. He could only imagine just what kind of torture occurred behind those walls. This made it even more impressive to him that Nezu stopped his vendetta against humans after punishing those immediately responsible. Unlike _some_ people he knew, Nezu was able to stop himself from committing acts that he would regret in the future. Instead, he ended up creating a school that trained heroes to fight and stop such cruel acts from ever happening again.

 _'Perhaps I should challenge him to a game of shogi later.'_

"You seem quite bored. Are you not interested in promotion?"

Shikamaru's eyes darted toward his neighbor. The one named Shinso was one of the many that directed ill intent at him earlier, so it came as a surprise to him that he was attempting at making conversation with him. He either had a kind disposition or wanted something.

 _'Going by the way his eyes are judging me, the latter seems more likely.'_

If other people heard his question, Shikamaru was sure they would laugh at the absurdity of its contents. After all, if you didn't want to become a hero, why even come to this school? Shinso didn't seem to be joking though.

"Getting into the Hero course would be convenient." Shikamaru said truthfully. "Not being in that course would make accomplishing my goal more difficult than it has to be."

Since he couldn't make shadow clones, ensuring the safety of the students while gathering intelligence was significantly more difficult. Despite what he said last night, Ruby had made the right call to involve them with the other students. They could only act passively as they were now. He had only used yesterday as an excuse to address Ruby's other issue. Knowing her, she probably realized it now and was planning a prank to get back at him somehow. As he was reflecting on his confrontation, the image of Ruby kissing his cheek came to mind.

 _'Nope. Not even gonna comment on that headache.'_

He refocused on Shinso who replied to his answer. Shinso seemed to have misunderstood his goal as "becoming a pro-hero" as Shikamaru wanted him to.

"I see. It would make becoming a pro more likely. But that's just it. See, other high schools might see transfer students from time to time, but this school's a bit special. The fact we even have transfers means you must be quite an exception. However, I don't recognize your name with any of the famous heroes. Being an offspring of a government official makes no sense with who our principal is, and judging by your broad shoulders and muscles, you've obviously went through training, so you can't be a simple nobody. Just who are you, Shikamaru Nara?"

His new neighbor was quite observant, he'll give him that. Shikamaru never would've guessed that having a trained body would give him away. He assumed being a student at U.A. meant you had some form of training, but that seemed to only apply to Hero course applicants. These General Education students seem more like the civilians that never reached higher than genin. However, if Shinso thought he would simply clear the mystery behind his origins so easily, he had another thing coming.

"…? Wait, you're not…"

"Finally noticed? A mind control quirk is quite useful, but you shouldn't assume it's all-powerful. You could probably get others with it, but it depends on their mental fortitude on how long it would last. An experienced pro-hero or villain would break out of it in a heartbeat."

Shinso gritted his teeth. His frustration was clear on his face, but it wasn't directed at Shikamaru but himself.

"So, what? Are you saying that my quirk is useless then?"

He was missing the point. Using Shikamaru as a reference wasn't a good idea. But to be fair, Shinso didn't know he was trained to resist much more powerful genjutsu.

"Hardly. Even now, your quirk is still useful. You could calm the masses and get them to evacuate in a calm and orderly manner. Small time thugs would stand no chance against you, meaning you can relieve pressure from other pros so they could deal with the ringleaders quicker. Faster operation times means less likely chances of other factors influencing the outcome and increasing the number of victims."

Shinso turned his head towards Shikamaru in shock as he continued his lecture with a hand propping his head on the desk.

"As for dealing with the more powerful villains, all you really need is training. No matter how convoluted your quirk might seem, it isn't a secret that quirks are a physical aspect. This means you can get stronger and so can your quirk. The law restricts usage of quirks without supervision and permission due to the dangerous nature some quirks might have if they go out of control, but that just means you just never discovered how to train it effectively."

Shikamaru glances at Shinso out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't know why you look down on yourself so much, but you shouldn't count yourself out of the running yet. Some quirks are naturally more eye-catching than others. You know that and so do the teachers. That's why they have the promotion system in place."

Shinso chuckles and gestures an open palm toward Shikamaru.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on giving up any time soon. Though I guess I kind of did need the pep talk. I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. Let me introduce myself. I'm Shinso Hitoshi, an aspiring hero-in-training."

Shikamaru gives a firm handshake in reply.

"Shikamaru Nara. A pleasure."

"You surprised me there. You seem more like the kind of guy who prefers relaxing rather than sticking your nose in other people's business."

Shikamaru scrunched his nose in distaste. Lecturing was a habit he developed as a father and advisor. It seems Ruby wasn't the only one with customs leaking from their past experiences.

"I'm glad you two were able to work out your differences even though it came at the expense of missing out on the lesson."

Woops. It seems they had drawn the attention of the rest of the class with their discussion. The teacher had an amused expression on his face.

"Shikamaru makes excellent points that I think all of us should keep in mind. The Hero exam was purposefully skewed towards those with flashier quirks. Some of you might perceive this as unfair. My reply to that is get over it. Suppose we promote you to the Hero course and you graduate and join an agency. Do you believe the environment there will be easier once you've made it? Don't be so naive. Flashy quirks will garner more attention and will be more likely for promotion. It is an undeniable truth."

The students of class 1-C were taken back by their teacher's harsh words. Some students looked down as the truth is laid bare in front of their faces. It was already a struggle just to be eligible for promotion. What chances did they have in the field?

"But so what? Time and time again has shown that flashy quirks aren't the be-all and end-all that decides if you become a successful hero. Anybody can throw a punch, but heroes aren't just fighters. They solve problems, save lives, and improve our society. What we as teachers are looking for is exceptional grades, imaginative application of knowledge and skills, and above all else unrelenting desire to improve. Plus-Ultra style. Some of you might think you're wasting time pursuing what seems to be a lost cause, but are you aware of what it means to be a U.A. graduate?"

Silence was the reply. He had their full attention now, and for what reason it wasn't yet clear.

"Graduating from U.A. is like graduating from college. It gives you an edge that simply doesn't exist in other schools. Even our rivaling hero academies can't boast the same success rate of graduates. Being one of our alumni is like having a get-college-for-free card. Why? Because of our diverse yet challenging curriculum? Partly, but not quite it. Can anyone hazard a guess? No? It's because all our graduates are instilled with the ability to strive towards their goal no matter what passion they have.

Whether you are a hero, support, management, or general education, everyone learns to keep moving forward. Colleges know that, and that's why they look at us first when they go recruiting. You've only just started school. Do you think the gap between you and the others are so large? Physically, probably not. Emotionally, perhaps. They did after all just go through quite a traumatic event. But that is quickly rectified with experience, and your first opportunity to obtain that experience is just around the corner. It seems some of you have already figured out where I'm heading with this.

That's right. I'm referring to the U.A. festival. As some of you know, with the emergence of quirks, the Olympics lost popularity and in its place our festival took its place. Some of you have experienced it first-hand when you visited at a younger age, but now you will be participating as one of the students. Agencies will be observing you, and us teachers will be judging you. Who among you have improved since your admittance? How many of you will make it through to the final round?"

The bell rung, signaling lunch. The teacher gathered his materials in a quick and orderly fashion while leaving some final words.

"With that being said, I wait expectantly for the results and will continue to guide you no matter what they may be. Also, Shikamaru and Shinso, you two will have extra problems on tonight's homework. Consider it a light warning for talking during class."

Shikamaru smiled ruefully. He had diverted the attention of the class and addressed their mental problems using their conversation as a springboard before promptly leaving after announcing the approach of the festival. He would be impressed if he wasn't just slapped in the face with an assignment.

"Do you really think we still have a chance?" asked one of the girls.

"Didn't you hear him?"

The one that replied was the brunette that tried to trip him earlier. She clenched a fist and looked forward at no one in particular.

"At most they're just a bit more mature than us because of the villain attack yesterday."

"Don't look down on villains." Hitoshi retorted. "The fact they were able to come out basically unscratched while some of the pros were hospitalized is nothing to be scoffed at."

They fall into silence at that comment. Before long, the girl named Natsumi, stood up and walked towards the door.

"Hmph, they must think they're quite highly of themselves. Let's see what makes them so special."

The sound of footsteps followed her. The rest were inspired by the teacher's speech and was similar curious at the people who made the headline news. Shikamaru leisurely walks to the door and finds his new neighbor standing outside waiting.

"Do you plan on taking a look as well?" he asks.

"No, I'm gonna go get some lunch."

"Then you should've gone before them. That's on the way there. By now, they've probably blocked the pathway."

Shikamaru sighed. Troublesome. The two of them walked toward the obvious crowd in front of the door that said '1-A' inscribed on it.

"I'm surprised everyone was so motivated. I thought other than me and Natsumi, nobody else would be eager to try so hard once they failed."

"They seemed to be very eager to me." He noted blandly.

Shinso nodded.

"That's only natural since you just arrived, but you weren't here since day one. The atmosphere was terrible. Everyone was acting like it was the end of the world. The news from this morning was like the nail in the coffin… That is, before you showed up."

He didn't reply to that. Instead, the two of them shifted their attention to the sound of Bakugo's voice. He seemed to be replying to someone else's question.

"They're scouting out the competition, idiot. Because of the news announcement of the villain attack this morning, everyone wants to see what's the big hype about. Well now you know what a real pro looks like, so move it, extras!"

Shinso frowned. One thing Shikamaru knew about his neighbor was that he didn't like being treated as being insignificant. Shinso made his way to the front of the crowd as he began his own provocation.

"So, this is 1-A. I heard you guys were impressive. You, on the other hand, sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional or is it just you?"

"Ah?!"

The students behind Bakugo shook their head and hands comically as if to say they didn't want to be associated with him. Bakugo tilts his head up and looked down on Shinso with squinted eyes. Shinso continues unintimidated.

"I wanted to enroll into the hero course too, but like many others here I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life."

"Tch." Bakugo scoffs unimpressed.

 _'If he didn't make it the first time, he won't make it a second time, is probably what he's thinking.'_

"I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us do well during the sports festival, teachers can transfer us into the hero course, and they'll have to transfer someone **out** to make room."

The weight of those words sinks into class 1-A as they obviously never considered such a thing. It seems unlike the general education students, class 1-A has never understood what it meant to struggle for the top. Is it because the recent events kept them too busy to fully grasp their situation or is it because they simply took things for granted? Shikamaru didn't know any of them personally so he couldn't make that judgment. Natsumi walks up beside Shinso and glares at the resident 'heroes'.

"Scouting some of the competition? Maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war."

The students behind Bakugo rear back at the boldness of his statements. They realize that despite his words, he wasn't the only one staring at them competitively. Many other general education students, including Natsumi, stared at them fiercely and provoked their own fighting spirit. Meanwhile, Bakugo begins a staring competition with Shinso. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was tired of the pointless competition of who had the largest ego.

"I'd like to get lunch sometime today. Shall I go first, or do you want me to wait until you're done?"

Eyes wander toward him. Some widen in recognition, others blink in confusion in exactly when he had approached the front. He ignores them all except for the one he questioned. Shinso nods.

"I'm done here."

"W-wait."

The one who spoke was the source of Ruby's troubles. Shikamaru stares at him quietly. The look in his eyes unnerve Midoriya a little bit. He wasn't an enemy, but he also wasn't a friend either. Despite not understanding why he was hostile, Midoriya barrels through with his question anyway.

"If you're a student now, does that mean she's also one?"

"Yes. Is that all?"

"Uh. Yeah. I guess."

He turns around and begins walking with his hands stuffed into his pockets. Shinso raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't answer. However, before he could leave another voice stops him.

"Oi, Pineapple."

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitches. He hated that nickname. He turned his head but not his body and looks at the blonde.

"I don't care how good you or that petal bitch is. I'm the only one who will become number one, got it?"

Shikamaru sighs and closes his eyes. He mentally counted backwards from five. Four. Three. Two…

"You can do whatever you want."

One. He opened his eyes and stares unamused at the brat. His brown eyes were sharp like the kunais he jabbed into his enemies' throats. The killing intent silences the hallway as all breathing stops.

"But don't you **ever** insult her in front of me again. **Understand**?"

Bakugo looks down at the shadow-like hand grasping his throat. It felt as if a real one was holding him. Gently enough that it didn't prove a problem, but firm enough to let him know it was real. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished. The shadow shrinking back towards Shikamaru before Bakugo could reply. He walks unimpeded as the crowd parts willingly to let him past. Silence reigns as they wondered what exactly just happened. Before long, the rest of the students hustle towards the cafeteria. A lone student with silver hair stands with a fist half-raised.

"What about my declaration of war?..."

1-B's class representative gently pats her hand on his shoulder to console him before hurrying to get lunch herself.


	6. Chapter 6: Making Plans

**Chapter 6: Making Plans**

Ruby skipped into the cafeteria humming a light tune. She had just come from the support building, and what they had there left her very content. It was a shame they only taught normal school topics in the morning, but that just meant she had the rest of the afternoon dedicated to designing literally anything she could think of. Granted, she was limited by the resources available, but it was an interesting challenge nevertheless. She even got to reconnect with a younger version of an old friend, Mei Hatsume. She was just as energetic as Ruby remembered.

 _'What should I make first? Elemental-boosting gauntlets? A throwing weapon that auto-corrects its own flight path? No, this world's heroes don't really need killing potential. Perhaps I could make a scouter that can detect anomalies in the surroundings based on my own implants.'_

All in all, it had been a good day so far. She can only hope Shika could say the same. Probably didn't, though. That man was lazier than a sloth. Serves him right for poking at her old wounds like that. Ruby plops right down across from Shika who had already ordered food for her.

"Sorry I'm late. I got a bit distracted talking with Mei."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in response.

"As in Mei Hatsume, that famous inventor? I wasn't aware she was from this universe."

It was a balanced meal consisting of some chicken, vegetables, and rice with a glass of milk on the side. Ruby grabbed her chopsticks and picked up a small slice of chicken.

"That's only natural. Her passion towards inventing is even bigger than my own obsession with weapons. I wouldn't be surprised if the only thing she talked to you about was her 'babies'."

Shika's meal was similarly well-balanced. He knows if it wasn't, it would cause health issues in the future which would be bothersome. He's probably the only person who was so lazy he became diligent (at least in terms of health).

"I wouldn't know. I never personally met her, only heard about her through passing conversations. I'm actually surprise you two are friends. Aren't the two of you business rivals?"

Ruby gave a so-so gesture with her hand as she chewed on another mouthful of rice.

"We technically are, but she doesn't care about things like competition or money. Everything is just a means to an end with her. So long as she gets to invent stuff, she happy."

Shika snorts as he takes a bite of vegetables. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"Nothing. She just sounds a lot like you. Locking yourselves behind closed doors whenever something interests you. No wonder you two get along."

Silver eyes rolled at that statement.

"I'll have you know I enjoy getting stronger just as much as I do tinkering with weapons. Unlike me, she has next to no interest in exercising except for the sake of testing a new item. Mei devotes nearly all her time to her creations."

"Then wouldn't she be higher on the leaderboard? Assuming she's as brilliant as they say, I'm surprised the two of you are so close in ranking if that was the case."

"That's because a lot of the stuff she makes end up not working."

Shika stared at her in disbelief. Ruby shrugged her shoulders.

"She generally tries to create whatever pops into her mind. The question of whether or not it's actually feasible and useful is always something she asks last."

"That sounds... very resource consuming."

Ruby nodded her head in confirmation. When creating something new, there were bound to be more failures than successes. Just take that time when she tried to fuse Materia and Dust for example. The number of times she blew herself up was not small.

"It is. It's why she's only so high in ranking, but it's also one of the main reasons I'm friends with her. Creators like us are affected by how restricted our line of thinking is. Sometimes, the two of us would talk and bounce ideas off of one another. Generally, one or both of us would come up with something by the end of it."

"Wouldn't there be an issue with copyright then?"

"Not really, her area of expertise lies in auxiliary equipment while mine is in weaponry. If it ever does overlap, we settle things peacefully after a call or two. But that's enough about me, how was your day? What's gotten you all worked up?"

Shika paused mid-bite. He probably thought he hid it well. At his questioning look, she clarified what gave him away.

"You forgot to get me strawberries. So, spill. What's bothering you?"

"...I was wondering what course of action we should take next. Given that we will only be staying here for a month at most, I figured we should come up with a more concrete plan since every second counts."

Ah, this topic again. They talked about it briefly last night, but neither of them could come up with anything concrete. After an hour or so of experimenting, they more or less understood the extent of their current capabilities. The results were lacking to be very honest. The mana core within them was gone, and their muscles and stature were reverted back to their teens as they previously suspected. They discovered the techniques they've developed weren't sealed away, but they might as well be. Shika was still able to use other jutsus, but any that wasn't related to his clan techniques consumed a perverse amount of chakra. For example, the substitution technique, which was normally a basic technique, now consumed the equivalent of 4 Shadow Possession Jutsus. Nearly half of his current reserves! Ruby, herself, had similar issues. Thankfully, basic usage of their chakra/aura augmenting their power, speed, and senses worked just fine. Shika was still able to walk on walls and water, and Ruby was still impervious to regular bullets and knifes so long as she still had aura leftover. After they finished testing, they finally collapsed in bed exhausted.

"Well, the main problem is we lack information." she replied. "We came here knowing only the basics because the unknown was supposed to be the fun part of our vacation."

"Unfortunately, we landed in the era where none of them have fully developed, meaning our very presence can have a major impact on their upbringing. So, the question is do you want to take a back-seat approach or will you actively search and eliminate the threats?"

Ruby huffed in annoyance, mostly at herself. They already made the initially decision to sit and wait. He was obviously asking to make sure she made a decision she was happy with.

"This is supposed to be our vacation time. I feel guilty enough knowing I'm dragging you and the others into this mess. Making you guys actively search and fight crime as well? Even I'm not so shameless."

"For now, Penny will have to act as our source of information. Lacking information wouldn't be such a problem if we had the sufficient strength to overcome any obstacle... We need to accelerate the growth of our fighting potential."

Ruby drummed her fingers against the table as the two of them began brainstorming.

"One month is simply too short of a time span to see decisive growth. Without mana, we also cannot use any of our more creative training methods. We'll have to grow the old-fashioned way."

"Hmm... what if we used Ageha's Nova Singularity?"

Nova Singularity was a Psi technique from the Psyren universe. It is a technique that combined the three forms of Psi (Rise, Burst, and Trance) in order to influence the world around oneself. With it, a person could manipulate gravity and time. Originally, it was a technique developed and used by Ageha's genius father, Asuka Yoshina. It was only after his reincarnation that Ageha started to learn and perfect it.

"How?" Ruby questioned. "We don't know how to use Psi yet, much less Nova which combines the three types of Psi."

"Maybe we can't, but couldn't we ask those who can?"

"You mean ask those two to use the technique while we trained in it? I don't think they would agree to help."

Shika looked at her in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because it's their anniversary. I highly doubt they will be happy to be disturbed on their week off, even if helping us just meant they made a shadow clone."

Shika sighed and massaged his temple with his hand, his lunch finished. He didn't want to disturb them if they didn't have to. Respecting each other's schedule was a common thing in Neotopia. Otherwise, you risk two or more immortal beings being in conflict. That generally never ends well.

"That's right... Then we'll have to wait until next week. Will they be okay with helping us then?"

"They would probably be more willing, but I would have to ask to know for sure."

For all she knew, the two Psi-users could be planning a long-term vacation like the two of them were. It was Ruby's turn to sigh before resting her head on the table, her finished dishes pushed to the side. She was NOT looking forward to that conversation. She could only hope Sakurako didn't stab her with her katana.

"Let's table that topic for now." she decided. "Our main method of growth is still normal exercise. I could probably make us something to help speed things up using the supplies they have in the support building. Was there anything else you could come up with?"

He shook his head in denial.

"Not much. We'll need to request to use the facilities at the school as our training grounds. We can also use it as an opportunity to bring the principal up to speed since the situation has changed since last night."

 _'Right, there is also that challenge to think about. We're going to have to alter our vacation plans since we won't be staying in one spot. But what universes would be a safe bet to hide out the duration of the challenge? Something to think about later.'_

Neotopia had a reward system set in place with the intention to motivate its inhabitants to improve themselves. The challenge system posted a reward for whatever task each challenge described. The way you can start each challenge varied. Some were automatically accepted while others required you to manually request it. Unique Elite Challenge #45 was the kind you had to request when using the dimension gates. The weird interaction between the Gaia gate and Kurogiri's quirk had probably caused a mistake somehow, making them bear the burden of the universe's laws. At least, that's what they think most likely happened. Basically, their current predicament was Bane's and Kurogiri's fault.

In reality, Ruby was excited to be young just like the other students. But while she would love nothing better than to go back to the days where the most she had to worry was Friday's homework assignment, she knew what lurked in the horizon. According to Penny, the students were living in a time of peace where most organized crime have been wiped out because of the age of All-Might. This meant that to the students, the moment those criminals were put away, they were out of sight and out of mind. Ruby was not so naive. The professional huntress in her could feel it was just the calm before the storm, and its name was All-for-One.

There was no doubt in her mind that if they were to run into All-for-One right now, they would be killed in the blink of an eye. She could only hope they wouldn't have to confront him during their stay. There was nothing more frustrating to Ruby than knowing how much power her body held yet being unable to help when others needed her most. So even though they might be staying to protect the children, they were staying to protect themselves just as much. It was a good thing she gave All-Might a senzu bean.

 _''The fact we're so weak is actually really annoying...I should stop worrying so much about it. At this point, there's nothing we can do about being too weak. We'll just have to do the best we can with what we have.'_

Ruby groaned.

There was also the matter of the vial she had obtained from Bane back in Neotopia. Whatever substance that was, she had to research it sometime in the future. Unfortunately, that meant she needed to brush up on her biology which meant more studying. But how was she gonna find the time to add that into her current schedule? She didn't want to push any of her other side projects to the back burner either. Perhaps it was better to send it to someone who was more familiar with the topic.

 _'Maybe Bulma could help. She did help create the red senzu bean after all. Then again, she's more familiar with spatial technology than biology. Who else do I know is free right now? Oh! Maybe-'_

She was interrupted by Penny calling her name.

 **"Ruby, there is something I need to inform you about."**

 _"Yes, Penny?"_

 **"As you know, I recently hacked into the police database in order to keep an eye on the villains that were put away. However, something happened on the way to the prison. Shigaraki and Kurogiri have escaped."**

Ruby's head popped up from the table. Her actions startled Shika, but her attention was elsewhere at the moment.

 _"How? Don't they have quirk-suppressing handcuffs? Nomu wasn't the one responsible, was he? We informed the officials about his relationship with Shigaraki."_

 **"According to the reports, black sludge started flooding out the mouth of the villains before engulfing and transporting them elsewhere**. **My further research with nearby security cameras confirm that nobody else was at the location at the time of the incident."**

 _"Which means it was the result of a third-party interfering. Most likely, they have another warping quirk. Fantastic."_

She filled Shika in on the situation. He was similarly troubled. Ruby sat patiently waiting for the resident strategist to analyze the situation. After a brief silence, he started speaking.

"Given who was targeted, the chances that All-for-One was the one responsible are high. I'm curious though... The ragtag bunch were obviously expendable and could leak information, so they weren't taken with them, but Nomu is different. Shigaraki exhibited childish tendencies, so his statements about Nomu being a valuable tool against All-Might should be the truth. And yet, Nomu wasn't one of the few that were rescued. From this, we can speculate a few things.

One, the number of times this teleportation quirk can be used is limited. The chances of this being the case is low. All-for-One has an unknown number of quirks, and any one of them could enhance this teleporting ability. Even if this weren't the case, we would be able to tell once enough time has passed. Since by then, he could simply reactivate the quirk once again and retrieve Nomu.

Two, the teleporting ability they used to rescue their members is limited in its application. We know this because if they could only choose two people to save, they still chose Kurogiri. This means Kurogiri is still much more useful than Nomu despite Nomu's combat ability. Another possibility is that it can only target sentient beings or those that can give consent. We know Nomu is incapable of independent thought, so maybe they were simply incapable of retrieving Nomu in the first place. The chances of one of these being the case is high.

Three, we can come to the conclusion that there is more than one Nomu or they can make more Nomus or, in the worst-case scenario, both. In fact, the previous two reasons are even more likely if this one holds true. The attack yesterday seemed more like a prod at U.A.'s capacity to defend their students rather than a decisive maneuver. Therefore, I don't think this will be the last Nomu we will run into. If it was the only Nomu, it doesn't make sense that someone like All-for-One, who has been the bane of the Symbol of Peace, would bet all their chips on a person like Shigaraki, at least with his current capabilities. He is unstable and has no sense of priority.

This brings me to my fourth guess. It is almost certain that Shigaraki is a disciple of All-for-One. Yesterday's attack was well-planned with proper preparation. They had previously confirmed that All-Might was supposed to be there with a break-in the day before. Over 50 thugs and Nomu were at his disposal and Shigaraki failed at getting even a single casualty. If I was All-for-One and my subordinate had messed up this badly, I would have cut him off to avoid future failures. And yet, he was saved. This means he isn't just any ordinary member. If anything, it almost seems like he was trying to teach a valuable lesson rather than land a decisive blow against All-Might."

"Which is likely if we consider that of the two people that were saved, Shigaraki was chosen instead of Nomu. Dust damn it all..."

Ruby really didn't like the sound of that. Sending a minion to fight against the Symbol of Peace, only to fail, get arrested, and then save him the next day after he got time to reflect on his failures? It really does sound like something one would do to raise a disciple, if a villain was said disciple that is. However, for what reason could All-for-One have for raising a disciple? There could be only one Ruby could think of. Shigaraki was the future wielder of **All-for-One**. If she had known that from the get-go, she would've cut off his head back then and saved them the trouble. She only let him go because she judged him as a slightly more competent thug.

 _'No, I can't think like that. That choice is a choice this world's Deku needs to make, not ours. Besides, we already decided to take a hands-off approach (kinda) while we're here. Unless the situation is extremely dire, or they do something absolutely unforgivable, we don't need to take any lives.'_

The shuffling of feet around them drew Ruby from her thoughts. Lunch had ended, and the students were now starting to head back to class. The two of them gathered and put their dishes in the corresponding rackets. As Ruby walked back to class, she pondered on the conversation they just had. Despite Shika's clever shift in the topic, Ruby just knew there was something else he wasn't telling her.

 _'He tried to cover it up by directing my attention towards the kids which he knows I care about. The question is, what had happened that bothered him so much he wouldn't want to tell me about it? Does it have to do with the way some students were whispering about us? Ugh, I was engrossed in the conversation, so I didn't pay too much attention to my surroundings. I just thought they were curious about the new faces. Now that I think about it, that doesn't make any sense. The school year only started not too long ago... Whatever, if it's important he'll tell me, and if it's not, I'll find out eventually. Gossip spreads quickly in a school, after all_

 **-Sometime later, on the way to Training Ground D-**

Tap. Tap.

His shoes clicked on the smooth concrete as he moved toward his destination. Thankfully, it was a normal thing in this day and age where humans would have some kind of deformity, so he was able to find socks that fit his paws without too much trouble. Oops. Deformity had a negative connotation, and suggested he considered them of lesser stature. He wouldn't want someone sensitive to take offense. Traits, not deformities, they were traits.

Humans were quite interesting creatures albeit a bit sensitive. So full of potential and creativity. Even the strangest quirk can find the most fascinating application when used correctly. It's one of the things that never ceases to amaze Principal Nezu whenever he observes humanity. Students, especially, find interesting solutions when they're faced with hurdles. And the students this year seemed quite amazing in that aspect. They handled the pressure from the villains spectacularly, clearing their first hurdle with flying colors. This comes as no surprise to Nezu though, given what he knew about class 1-A. Of the twenty students, quite a few stood out.

Shouto Todoroki was the offspring of the number two hero, Endeavor. That man's personality aside, there is no doubt of his skill as a hero being second only to All-Might. It would be even more strange if Shouto Todoroki was incompetent. Although, he seems to only use his ice quirk in combat. He suspects it might have something to do with the hatred Nezu recognizes in his eyes. A hatred he would bet money on Endeavor being the source. Unfortunately, as an educator they could not stick their noses into family matters. They could only make sure he understood that they would try to help him as best they could should he need it.

Katsuki Bakugo was another one. In the Hero exam, they graded applicants based on combat and hero points. Combat points referred to them destroying various robots in the field while hero points referred to saving pther applicants from any danger. Katsuki Bakugo had passed in first place with only combat points, a rare feat.

And then there was Izuku Midoriya, the successor of All-Might. Nezu would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised when he was told the news. A random, quirkless middle-schooler All-Might met on the way to the police station was chosen to inherit what could considered as the most dangerous quirk ever? One-for-All wasn't just a quirk, it was a symbol in and of itself, and a crybaby now had it. He was dubious at first, but the results speak for themselves. Unlike his mentor, Izuku Midoriya has shone budding talent as an analytic thinker, and despite only having a brief amount of training, he displayed his ability to save lives and defeat his enemies that were just as numerous as the ones Shouto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo defeated.

They, along with their fellow classmates fought and survived mostly unscathed. Of course, the safety of the students were also thanks to their two special guests, Ruby Rose and Shikamaru Nara. The self-proclaimed time-travelers helped keep the villains at bay. For just this, Nezu was grateful. The guilt of any of these students losing their lives, on the campus grounds no less, would weigh on him until he died. However, gratefulness did not equate to amnesty, and they were very suspicious.

To begin with, the names Ruby Rose and Shikamaru Naru was nowhere in the government system. The favors Nezu called in verified no such individuals existed in Japan for the past twenty years. Granted, Ruby Rose sounded like a foreign name, but Shikamaru Naru was absolutely Japanese. From what he could tell, they seemed to be telling the truth that Izuku Midoriya, or Deku, as she called him, knew them in the future. But then, how was it that none of the other hero academies have either of them in the system? Were the names aliases or were they never heroes in the first place? If not, that only brings up more questions.

Nezu pulls the door open and steps into the observation deck where All-Might stood spectating the two individuals in question. Today was another day they had agreed to lend a training area for them to use. School had already ended, so nobody else was on campus other than them and the U.A. staff. All-Might turned to face Nezu, but instead of his normal greeting he posed a question.

"Are those two really human?"

Currently, the two of them were sparring. Their figures dashing back and forth across huge distances with great speed. Training Ground D was a factory setting, so there were many pipes and loose metal that could easily trip people up. It simulated tight spaces quite well and is actively used for many training exercises. Apparently, that meant nothing to the two of them. They scaled walls and fought upside down as if it was their own backyard. Their smooth movements was a testament to their training, but what was surprising was their inhuman speed and strength. Multiple times Ruby's scythe would cut walls like butter or Shikamaru's legs would catapult him stories high when he dodged. If it was done by the usage of a quirk, Nezu would be more understanding. However, Ruby's quirk was related to petals and speed, and Shikamaru his shadow. This meant that their bodies were naturally this strong which made no sense. Nezu could sympathize with the Symbol of Peace.

"I honestly don't know." was his reply.

What makes it even more confusing was that they were continuously getting stronger. Every day they improved more and more. The improvements weren't small either. They were giant leaps, and they only seemed to get bigger since last week. It was like the limits of the human body didn't apply to them. That unfortunately, was not the most concerning discrepancy Nezu found about them. No, it was the fact that they were using **killing intent**.

Nezu knew killing intent. Villains, gangsters, and soldiers used them. Even Nezu himself had it back when he despised humans and wanted nothing more than pain and misfortune to rain on his captives. But heroes... heroes don't use killing intent. In the field, when someone with strong killing intent faces you, it feels like you're suffocating. It is a valuable tool in battle, and villains know that. They use it and prey on the weak minds of heroes who don't take lives. Heroes go into combat using a similar tool, their **fighting spirit**.

Heroes don't kill, but Ruby Rose and Shikamaru Nara definitely do. They've done it before, and they would do it again. Just looking at their tools spoke the truth. Shikamaru with his knives and shuriken. Ruby with her gigantic scythe that apparently is also a **gun**.

So, why were two killers pretending to be students, and why was he gambling the safety of the children with these murderers?

"It's reassuring," the Symbol of Peace noted, "that such powerful people are on our side."

That was it. The one absolute truth that kept Nezu from calling a Swat team to put them behind bars. Their interactions with the other students were friendly with the exception of one incident. Ruby's concern when he purposely revealed that the villains, Shigaraki and Kurogiri, had escaped was genuine. Curiously enough, her surprise itself wasn't. That meant she was getting inside information somehow. According to class 1-C's teacher, Shikamaru showed little motivation to do anything that wasn't necessary and took frequent naps during classes. Despite that, he willingly made a speech to motivate his fellow students, showing that he cared about their wellbeing.

"It seems that miss Ruby Rose has won." Nezu stated.

As their two guests drank from their water bottles to replenish the liquid in their body, All-Might and Principal Nezu walked to greet them.

"Excellent spar, you two! Truly you guys are putting effort into living up to our school's motto."

Ruby and Shikamaru smile at All-Might's enthusiasm.

"Thank you," Ruby replied, "we wouldn't have been able to improve this much if not for everything you've provided for us."

Nezu shook his head.

"Think nothing of it Miss Ruby Rose. Think of it as an investment into our student's safety. Having the two of you keeping a watchful eye on today's youths will lighten the load on the rest of us."

"Yes, we all know how much of a handful kids can be."

The group chuckles at the all too true statement. Their interactions cement Nezu's opinion that they are more mature than their looks suggest.

"Although, I do hope you two try to keep things as friendly as possible with the rest of them."

Ruby tilts her head in confusion. Shikamaru's eyes widen slightly in understanding. How curious.

"I received a report just the other day about how some students made a very bold declaration of war against class 1-A. While such events were normal this time of year, I was surprised when they told me a student threatened another. I hope this will not be a reoccurring theme, Mr. Shikamaru Nara?"

He shook his head with a slight red tinge on his cheeks. So, it wasn't a planned attack. The student himself showed no signs of bruising or trauma, only slightly hurt pride, so Nezu was willing to turn the other cheek in this matter. Miss Ruby looks at Shikamaru in confusion.

"What happened? You're normally very laid back."

"Cough. It was nothing important. Just a little irritated from earlier that morning. I didn't eat breakfast, and he said something that ticked me off."

Ruby nods in understanding, but her expression remains skeptical. Even if he was irritated, why would he use his quirk? Nezu decided to clarify for her.

"As you might be aware, young Katsuki Bakugo has a very colorful diction. He chose a very distinct way to describe you, and Mr. Nara here chose to address the subject."

A look of understanding passes through her eyes before a teasing smile settles on her face.

"Oh. OH!"

Shikamaru is not acknowledging the flirting look she is giving him though. He has found Nezu's fur to be more fascinating to observe. Nezu and All-Might smirk at the duo's interactions. Nezu decides to move the conversation forward. Since he put him that position, it was only appropriate he should get him out.

"That being said, being friendly with the rest of the students is in your best interests. With your skills, getting to the final round will be an easy task for the two of you. That is also more than enough for us to push you through to classes 1-A and 1-B."

The significance of his statement is not lost on them.

"We will be in separate classes?" Shikamaru ask.

"Yes, I think it would be best to split our forces, so if either classes are targeted, someone will be able to respond if the teachers aren't able to."

They both nod in agreement though Nezu notes that Ruby is slightly disappointed. He cannot help but grin. She is quite enamored with her partner.

They discuss a few other minor things before All-Might announces he needs to be on his way to meet up with his successor. His departure is a signal for the end of their gathering as they gather their things and leave. Nezu makes a mental note to request Cementoss to fix the damages the next morning. After locking up, Principal Nezu stares at the two figures walking off into the distance. The young woman trapped in a girl's body relentlessly teased her companion while he silently accepts with red cheeks. They seem like genuinely good people. He could only hope it wasn't all a very practiced act to let their guard down. Well, if what they said was true, their friend would be coming by, and they would be gone by the end of the month. That would be for the best. They had too many secrets to work together for the long term. His only regret would be he would lose his shogi partner. With a sigh, Principal Nezu begins his trek home. He silently prays for the continuation of their peace.


End file.
